1
as in tough
difficult to endure
had the onerous and stressful job of notifying the families of soldiers killed in action
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in challenging
requiring much time, effort, or careful attention
building the scale model of the frigate was an onerous task
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of onerous
To the degree that the United States and others have an interest in balancing Chinese power, India expects their support without having to make any onerous compromises to secure such assistance.
—
Ashley J. Tellis, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2025
That places an onerous burden on Henson, doing her considerable best trying to sustain a role whose Job-like travails crank the distress level to 11 too soon.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 6 June 2025
Such onerous requirements for something as basic as food could amount to war crimes, Grant said, and could even lead to accusations that organizations like GHF are complicit.
—Matt Bradley, NBC news, 11 June 2025
This area will definitely result in the collapse of some treasuries in the future, whereby onerous terms will force companies to sell and/or interest rates will become too costly to sustain during a bear market.
—Alexander S. Blume, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for onerous
Ashley J. Tellis, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2025
That places an onerous burden on Henson, doing her considerable best trying to sustain a role whose Job-like travails crank the distress level to 11 too soon.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 6 June 2025
Such onerous requirements for something as basic as food could amount to war crimes, Grant said, and could even lead to accusations that organizations like GHF are complicit.
—Matt Bradley, NBC news, 11 June 2025
This area will definitely result in the collapse of some treasuries in the future, whereby onerous terms will force companies to sell and/or interest rates will become too costly to sustain during a bear market.
—Alexander S. Blume, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for onerous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for onerous
Adjective
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Even these young players already have major tournament experience — a huge strength given their tough group.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
28 June 2025
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Nor is anything that tough necessary to prevent chronic illness.—
Carolyn Rosenblatt,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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All of these factors combine to make AI adoption incredibly challenging, expensive and time-consuming.—
Dave Friend,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
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As such, piloting an FPV drone is a completely different, entirely more challenging kettle of fish than piloting a standard camera drone.—
Sam Kieldsen,
Wired News,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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Come spring, the Ranger III carries everything from outhouses and diesel fuel for the generators to construction supplies to repair whatever damage Mother Nature did to facilities over the harsh winter.—
Diana Lambdin Meyer,
USA Today,
28 June 2025
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Yet the harshest critic is often the one in the mirror.—
Cheryl Robinson,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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James is playing the final year of his contract at $52.6 million, which is a very difficult number for teams to pay.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 July 2025
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Any pass to Warren Zaire-Emery in midfield is difficult too, due to Kim pushing out of defence.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
5 July 2025
Adjective
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For those still experiencing the oppressive heat, here are some tips for how to find your own bit of relief.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
27 June 2025
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But what is a heat dome, and why does the phenomenon bring oppressive heat with it?—
Denise Chow,
NBC news,
26 June 2025
Adjective
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But the plaintiffs in the case and the Biden administration said the appeals court was wrong to apply that standard and should have instead analyzed it under the most demanding level, strict scrutiny, because the law impedes adults' access to speech protected by the Constitution.—
June 27,
CBS News,
27 June 2025
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Further stymying manufacturing’s renaissance is that plant work isn’t just dirty and physically demanding – albeit less than in prior generations – but also relatively low-paying with limited career prospects.—
Ryan Craig,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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Pritzker’s speech, which occurred as national Democrats were largely leaderless in countering and criticizing Trump’s early chaotic presidential moves, aimed to fill the vacuum and garnered significant attention by offering a searing response to the president for a national audience.—
Rick Pearson,
Chicago Tribune,
24 June 2025
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And first baseman Colby Thorndyke comes in with a searing swing.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
21 June 2025
Adjective
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Prioritize solutions that feel empowering, not burdensome.—
Miles Ward,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
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Doctors complain the process is burdensome and it's often used to delay or deny medically necessary medical care for patients.—
Ken Alltucker,
USA Today,
24 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Onerous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/onerous. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
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