onus

noun

ˈō-nəs How to pronounce onus (audio)
Definition of onusnext
1
as in stain
a mark of guilt or disgrace hoping to avoid the onus of failure by lowering expectations ahead of time

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in blame
responsibility for wrongdoing or failure he perpetually tries to shift the onus for any mistakes onto other team members

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of onus That puts the onus on buyers and sellers to perform their own due diligence. — Bob Woods, CNBC, 10 Oct. 2026 What’s worse, the law put the onus on them to ask to be silenced. — Gretchen Carlson, New York Daily News, 2 Oct. 2026 Having Pugh playing a character who is, by her very nature, hesitant to reveal her truth is an interesting choice that puts the onus on everybody around her who doesn’t recognize what is so obvious to viewers. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 1 Oct. 2026 The city is already facing an earlier lawsuit over its rollout of the tax from a group of homeowners who contend that City Hall didn't do enough to determine who would pay the tax and instead put the onus on homeowners to figure it out. — ABC News, 29 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for onus
Recent Examples of Synonyms for onus
  1. stain
  2. blame
  3. stigma
  4. guilt
  5. taint
  6. blot
  7. shame
Noun
  • The metals in coins can oxidize, leaving stains on the marble that are difficult to clean.
    — Jeff Wagner, CBS News, 11 Nov. 2026
  • Inside, yellow sulfur stains bleed into red, green, blue, and orange mineral deposits.
    — Avantika Chaturvedi, Travel + Leisure, 9 Nov. 2026
Definition of stain
Noun
  • Since Tuesday's election, he's refused to acknowledge any responsibility, placing blame on the candidates.
    — STEVEN SLOAN, Arkansas Online, 8 Nov. 2026
  • Simmons refused to acknowledge the injury and took blame for the loss.
    — PJ Green November 8, Kansas City Star, 8 Nov. 2026
Definition of blame
Noun
  • The goal is to erase the stigma that can be felt at food banks and by those facing food insecurity.
    — Emily M. Olson, Hartford Courant, 28 Oct. 2026
  • If the neighborhood, family and institutions around that young person have not changed, the conditions that made violence attractive remain, and stigma can become a mechanism of re-recruitment.
    — Charles Wratto, The Conversation, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of stigma
Noun
  • Another study found that Americans felt less collective guilt about harm done to Iraqis when they were reminded of 9/11—and even when they were reminded of Pearl Harbor.
    — Paul Bloom, New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2026
  • But her fumbling coming-of-age is fraught with guilt, mostly about Callie and her shattered mother.
    — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of guilt
Noun
  • The company has previously harvested grapes that could not be made into wine following wildfire smoke-taint, including from Cates’ own vineyard.
    — Lizzie Kane, Sacbee.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Even though Thiam denied knowledge of it and was cleared of involvement, the taint of the scandal led to his ouster.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of taint
Noun
  • Would not winning a World Series have left a blot on the lives of Cubs fans?
    — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Liz’s view Anthropic’s IPO prospectus is a perfect ink-blot test.
    — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of blot
Noun
  • Of course, people were surprised that a 15-year-old boy wanted to tackle menstrual shame.
    — Kamala Thiagarajan, NPR, 7 Nov. 2026
  • To join the tide of anti-intellectualism that refuses to take this seriously or rise to the challenge of doing so, as Tate has done with this exhibition, is a grave shame.
    — Eliza Goodpasture, ARTnews.com, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of shame

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Cite this Entry

“Onus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/onus. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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