unburden
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to remove a load or burden from
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to relieve or make free (one's mind, oneself, etc) of a worry, trouble, etc, by revelation or confession
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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unburdensimple
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unburdenssimple
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have unburdenedperfect
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has unburdenedperfect
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am unburdeningprogressive
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are unburdeningprogressive
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is unburdeningprogressive
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have been unburdeningperfect progressive
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has been unburdeningperfect progressive
Past
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unburdenedsimple
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had unburdenedperfect
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was unburdeningprogressive
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were unburdeningprogressive
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had been unburdeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of unburden
Explanation
When you remove a difficulty or weight from yourself or someone else, you unburden them. Help unburden a friend by carrying her books or by listening to her troubles. When you unburden someone, you take away some burden — a task, hardship, or even something they're worried about. You can unburden new parents by offering to babysit or unburden your little brother by carrying his backpack for him. Another way to unburden is to relieve of an emotional weight: "You may feel better if you unburden yourself. Want to tell me what's on your mind?"
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.
See Examples For:
"When you breathe, you're already rich, you're already a millionaire; all the wealth is in life. I talked with him, and I was able to unburden myself."
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
IFS is a way to unburden the self and have a more integrated inner system, Morin said.
From Salon ● Dec. 7, 2024
“There’s someone out there who has been carrying this burden for 25 years, and it’s time to let it go and unburden yourself,” Tacoma Detective Julie Dier said.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 23, 2024
However, she says some were relieved to unburden themselves of things they had not been able to tell anyone.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2023
Just as often, however, Adams also used the correspondence to unburden himself of opinions that his muzzled status in the Senate prevented him from sharing publicly.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Here, a female devotee unburdens her troubles before Puliyurkali, a powerful manifestation of goddess Kali, seeking solace and divine intervention.
From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2024
He unburdens himself in order to wrest insight out of his students.
From Washington Post ● May 17, 2019
Even Bush's ballads don't sound lugubrious: Unfettered by sonic gravity or pop conventions, she exudes exquisite grace as she unburdens herself.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2018
“When the conditions are right, Autopilot unburdens us of the most tedious tasks of driving.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2016
Then she unburdens herself and begins to speak in fits and starts of this key, of the mishap which twisted it, and of all the multiple details which overlap each other in her head.
From Light by Wray, Fitzwater
Maybe their perception of it could be even more accurate, unburdened by distorted memories for an inherently objective historical account.
From Salon ● May 30, 2026
Tech, largely unburdened by oil exposure or complex global supply chains, suddenly looked like the cleaner trade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
AI-native software startups, unburdened by the baggage of years of design decisions, can leapfrog incumbents with new ways of doing things.
From Barron's ● Feb. 24, 2026
Rather, she prefers to be called a “ball of light” or “God’s helper,” mystifying phrases unburdened by the conventional stigmas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2025
“She just got back,” the doorman tells Gogol with a wink as he walks past, and his heart leaps, unburdened of its malaise, grateful for her simple act of returning to him.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Stacy’s problem with New York life, and particularly how its version of 1% living shaped her children, is why Preston’s cabin becomes the start of her “Walden”-style unburdening.
From Salon ● Mar. 23, 2026
Once he started unburdening himself of his insecurities and traumas, he probably wouldn’t stop for a week.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 20, 2026
After unburdening herself from the bipolar diagnosis she had received as a child, she got off psych meds.
From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2024
He is reluctant to spill his secrets, but it’s only a matter of time before he joins the others in unburdening his soul.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2024
I feel lighter yet somehow a bit warmer after unburdening my heart.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
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.
