Onerous | Definition of onerous by Merriam-Webster

Full Definition of ONEROUS

1

: involving, imposing, or constituting a burden : troublesome <an onerous task>

2

: having legal obligations that outweigh the advantages <an onerous contract>

— oner·ous·ly adverb

— oner·ous·ness noun

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Examples of ONEROUS

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 2008
The 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 2000
Environmentalism 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, 1998
Rap 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
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Origin of ONEROUS

Middle English, from Middle French honereus, from Latin onerosus, from oner-, onus burden; akin to Sanskrit anas cart

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to ONEROUS

Synonyms: bitter, brutal, burdensome, cruel, excruciating, grievous, grim, hard, hardhanded, heavy, inhuman, murderous, harsh, oppressive, rough, rugged, searing, severe, stiff, tough, trying

Antonyms: easy, light, soft

Synonym Discussion of ONEROUS

onerous, burdensome, oppressive, exacting mean imposing hardship. 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>.

Rhymes with ONEROUS

sonorous

Definition of ONEROUS for Kids

: being difficult and unpleasant to do or to deal with <“… do you never find your duties onerous or irksome?” — E. B. White, The Trumpet of the Swan>

Learn More About ONEROUS

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for "onerous"

Spanish Central: Spanish translation of "onerous"

Nglish: Translation of "onerous" for Spanish speakers

Britannica English: Translation of "onerous" for Arabic speakers

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