: having legal obligations that outweigh the advantages
an onerous contract
onerouslyadverb
onerousnessnoun
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What is the Difference Between onerous, burdensome, oppressive?
Onerous, which traces back to the Latin onus, meaning "burden," has several synonyms. Like onerous, burdensome, oppressive, and exacting all refer to something which imposes a hardship of some kind. Onerous stresses a sense of laboriousness and heaviness, especially because something is distasteful ("the onerous task of cleaning up the mess"). Burdensome suggests something which causes mental as well as physical strain ("the burdensome responsibilities of being a supervisor"). Oppressive implies extreme harshness or severity in what is imposed ("the oppressive tyranny of a police state"). Exacting suggests rigor or sternness rather than tyranny or injustice in the demands made or in the one demanding ("an exacting employer who requires great attention to detail").
onerous stresses being laborious and heavy especially because distasteful.
the onerous task of cleaning up the mess
burdensome suggests causing mental as well as physical strain.
burdensome responsibilities
oppressive implies extreme harshness or severity in what is imposed.
the oppressive tyranny of a police state
exacting implies rigor or sternness rather than tyranny or injustice in the demands made or in the one demanding.
an exacting employer
Example Sentences
Then everyone was asked, how fairly did you act?, from "extremely unfairly" (1) to "extremely fairly" (7). Next they watched someone else make the assignments, and judged that person's ethics. Selflessness was a virtual no-show: 87 out of 94 people opted for the easy task and gave the next guy the onerous one. Sharon Begley, Newsweek, 23 June 2008The first hitch occurred when the state education department took a full six months after the new law was adopted to issue 12 pages of onerous rules and regulations governing Arkansas charter schools. Wendy Cole, Time, 10 June 2000Environmentalism poses stark issues of survival, for humankind and for all those other tribes of creatures over which we have exercised our onerous dominion. Marilynne Robinson, The Death of Adam, 1998Rap tested well, but early on the promoters said they wouldn't be booking any gangsta rap, a move at least partly designed to calm security concerns during the onerous process of complying with the strict mass-gathering laws enacted in the wake of the 1969 festival. John Milward, Rolling Stone, 11 Aug. 1994 The government imposed onerous taxes on imports. had the onerous and stressful job of notifying the families of soldiers killed in action See More
Recent Examples on the WebLockdowns, remote learning and quarantines placed onerous limits on children's physical freedoms, curtailing their opportunities to do all sorts of things on their own outside home. Elissa Strauss, CNN, 1 Sep. 2022 The raw meat diet may continue to be demystified in further research, and the lifestyle might lose some of its onerous, hypermasculine baggage. Luke Winkie, Bon Appétit, 31 Aug. 2022 That includes rethinking the onerous path its baristas must take to make a Frappuccino.WSJ, 31 Aug. 2022 Election officials said many of the onerous requests seek ballot records, information on voting machines, and even the personal information of election workers -- which election offices will not provide. Laura Romero, ABC News, 30 Aug. 2022 The best way to stem pilot fatigue, as well as reduce the onerous flight delays and cancellations that have plagued the airline industry of late, is for airlines to trim their schedules, experts say. Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2022 Solutions, especially in small communities, are often onerous and expensive. Keely Larson, Ars Technica, 20 Aug. 2022 Minneapolis enacted two years of onerous executive-order lockdown policies starting in March 2020.Fox News, 17 Aug. 2022 Many states are also loosening requirements to become a teacher, calling them needlessly onerous. Sara Randazzo, WSJ, 16 Aug. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Middle French honereus, from Latin onerosus, from oner-, onus burden; akin to Sanskrit anas cart