onerous

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Pronunciation

• (British) IPA: /ˈɒnəɹəs/, /ˈəʊnəɹəs/
• (America) IPA: /ˈɑnəɹəs/, /ˈoʊnəɹəs/

Adjective

onerous

1. imposing or constituting a physical, mental, or figurative load which can be borne only with effort; burdensome.
   • 1820, Washington Irving, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow":

     That all this might not be too onerous on the purses of his rustic patrons, who are apt to consider the costs of schooling a grievous burden, and schoolmasters as mere drones, he had various ways of rendering himself both useful and agreeable.

   • 1848, Charlotte Brontë, Shirley, ch. 13:

     Again, and more intensely than ever, she desired a fixed occupation,—no matter how onerous, how irksome.

   • 1910, Jack London, "The Golden Poppy" in Revolution and Other Essays:

     [I]t has become an onerous duty, a wearisome and distasteful task.

Synonyms

• (burdensome) demanding, difficult, taxing, wearing

Translations

• French: onéreux, pénible, lourd
• German: beschwerlich, drückend, lästig, mühsam
• Italian: oneroso, ostico
• Portuguese: oneroso
• Russian: обременительный
• Spanish: oneroso

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