burdensome
Americanadjective
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oppressively heavy; onerous.
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distressing; troublesome.
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Nautical. having a full hull form, as a merchant vessel built for capacity rather than speed.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of burdensome
Explanation
Something that's burdensome is very difficult or tiring. It's better to weed your garden regularly, rather than put it off until it becomes an exhausting, burdensome task. Some summer jobs are easy and relaxing, like your laid-back dog walking business — other jobs are much more burdensome, like babysitting a large family of kids or lifeguarding at a pool where people keep nearly drowning. Something that's a burden, a physical load or a duty that weighs heavily on you, is burdensome. The Proto-Indo-European root means "to bear" or "to carry," and also "to give birth."
Vocabulary lists containing burdensome
Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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Vocabulary from President Trump's First Address to Congress
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Ungifted
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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.
Burdensome grievance procedures discourage federal executive branch officials from filing negative assessment of employees, 99 percent of whom receive the “fully successful” rating.
From Washington Post • Feb. 8, 2023
Burdensome French loans, sometimes forcibly imposed, set off a cycle of underdevelopment that has made today’s Haiti poorer by tens of billions of dollars, some scholars estimate.
From New York Times • Aug. 27, 2022
Burdensome self-reexamination to improve sociality certainly isn’t what’s meant by the disability rights message, “nothing about us without us,” and sacrifices of identity should not be the price of acceptance from nondisabled people.
From Slate • Jul. 6, 2021
Burdensome requirements, poorly administered programs and landlords refusing to cooperate meant tens of thousands of tenants never got assistance.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 30, 2021
Burdensome restrictions were laid upon the stranger who attempted to utilize the advantages of the market without sharing the expense of maintenance.
From A Political and Social History of Modern Europe V.1. by Hayes, Carlton J. H.
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.
