onerous

[ on-er-uhs, oh-ner- ]

adjective

1. burdensome, oppressive, or troublesome; causing hardship:

   onerous duties.

   Synonyms: galling, irksome, grievous, heavy

2. having or involving obligations or responsibilities, especially legal ones, that outweigh the advantages:

   an onerous agreement.

onerous

/ ˈəʊ-; ˈɒnərəs /

adjective

1. laborious or oppressive
2. law (of a contract, lease, etc) having or involving burdens or obligations that counterbalance or outweigh the advantages

Derived Forms

• ˈonerousness, noun
• ˈonerously, adverb

Other Words From

• oner·ous·ly adverb
• oner·ous·ness o·ne·ros·i·ty [oh-n, uh, -, ros, -i-tee], noun
• non·oner·ous adjective
• non·oner·ous·ly adverb
• non·oner·ous·ness noun
• un·oner·ous adjective
• un·oner·ous·ly adverb
• un·oner·ous·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of onerous¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin onerōsus, equivalent to oner- (stem of onus ) burden + -ōsus -ous

Word History and Origins

Origin of onerous¹

C14: from Latin onerōsus burdensome, from onus load

Example Sentences

Clinic workers in multiple states have found the new requirements so onerous they’ve started writing all the vaccination records on paper and entering them into the computer by hand when they have free time.

From MIT Technology Review

Considering how much money was set aside, the Main Street lending program and municipal lending programs haven’t been well utilized, with critics saying the loans carry onerous requirements.

From Washington Post

Clearly, such performance would be regarded as that of a star trader, and not that of a politician with other onerous duties.

From Fortune

The move reflects the agency’s recognition that the two-week quarantine rule is onerous for many people and that most of the public health benefit from quarantining people exposed to the virus can be gained with a more flexible approach.

From Washington Post

Obama then seems to try to temper that by adding that the unions were “understandably wary” of standardized testing — but he doesn’t mention just how onerous the testing became.

From Washington Post

Yet their biggest star, a master practitioner of the sport, could face prison time for much less onerous financial crimes.

From The Daily Beast

The pair had argued, and the assistant ceased performing this most onerous of duties.

From The Daily Beast

It was regarded as so deeply onerous that the dictator Anastasio “Tachito” Somoza abolished it in 1970.

From The Daily Beast

The demand of being an EU state have been onerous and living conditions have not improved.

From The Daily Beast

Help with onerous conditions is not help so much as benevolent coercion.

From The Daily Beast

Nothing is more onerous and more ruinous for the greatest part of the nations than the worship of their Gods!

From Project Gutenberg

One is medical officer, another is second in command, and the most onerous task is that accepted by the 'steward.'

From Project Gutenberg

Persist in your resolve, and remain faithful to your duties, no matter how onerous they may seem.

From Project Gutenberg

Their estates were relieved of a most onerous charge, and the lands freed from the burden of supporting the army of the state.

From Project Gutenberg

The ostentation of the court had become an onerous ceremony, the monarchical principle an unendurable constraint.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• arduous
• backbreaking
• burdensome
• cumbersome
• demanding
• difficult
• distressing
• excessive
• exhausting
• grueling
• harsh
• intolerable
• laborious
• oppressive
• painful
• rigorous
• severe
• strenuous
• taxing
• troublesome