unburden
Americanverb (used with object)
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unburdens,
present (3rd person singular)
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unburdened,
past participle, past
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unburdening
present participle
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
However, she says some were relieved to unburden themselves of things they had not been able to tell anyone.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2023
Someone has to deliver seven-inning starts on a consistent basis to unburden the team’s overworked bullpen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2023
Many times he had thought to unburden his heart to her.
From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin
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
As Stan unburdens his soul to his coconspirator, and wrestles with issues of guilt and shame, the question remains: What do you want to believe, folks?
From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2021
“When the conditions are right, Autopilot unburdens us of the most tedious tasks of driving.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2016
Dad further unburdens himself of the story of his own father, the narrator’s grandfather.
From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2015
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 Fitzwater Wray
Thus unburdened, she transforms into a Beatrice figure and, together with Kenyon, leads the crime to its resolution.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
AI-native software start-ups, unburdened by the baggage of years of design decisions, can leapfrog incumbents with new ways of doing things.
From Barron's ● Feb. 24, 2026
Detached and unburdened by the need of a narrative, the images simply exist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2026
You are wholly unburdened by guilt and you are arrogant beyond measurement.
From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2026
He made the honor roll every semester, but unburdened by practicalities, he had daydreams about leaving school, traveling the country à la Jack Kerouac—only writing songs instead of poems.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
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
If you re-watch those old "Red Talk Talk" unburdening sessions, Will was the one leading the narrative — not his wife.
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2023
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.
