onerous
Americanadjective
-
laborious or oppressive
-
law (of a contract, lease, etc) having or involving burdens or obligations that counterbalance or outweigh the advantages
Other Word Forms
- nononerous adjective
- nononerously adverb
- nononerousness noun
- onerosity noun
- onerously adverb
- onerousness noun
- unonerous adjective
- unonerously adverb
- unonerousness noun
Etymology
Origin of onerous
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin onerōsus, equivalent to oner- (stem of onus ) burden + -ōsus -ous
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He said the stricter standards for oil and gas were onerous for auto makers and raised vehicle prices.
From Barron's
“It’s this regime that can be onerous, and then when people learn about that, they say, ‘Well, maybe taking a shot once a week is easier.’”
From MarketWatch
“It’s this regime that can be onerous, and then when people learn about that, they say, ‘Well, maybe taking a shot once a week is easier.’”
From MarketWatch
That is more onerous than what established banks face but less than regulators forced on other newly-chartered banks in recent years.
Google, concluded with punishments less onerous than feared.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
