If you describe a task as onerous, you dislike having to do it because you find it difficult or unpleasant.
[formal]
...parents who have had the onerous task of bringing up a very difficult child.
Synonyms: trying, hard, taxing, demanding More Synonyms of onerous
onerous in British English
(ˈɒnərəs, ˈəʊ-)
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
onerously (ˈonerously)
adverb
onerousness (ˈonerousness)
noun
Word origin
C14: from Latin onerōsus burdensome, from onus load
onerous in American English
(ˈɑnərəs; ˈoʊnərəs)
adjective
1.
burdensome; laborious
2. Law
involving a legal obligation that equals or exceeds the benefits
onerous lease
SYNONYMY NOTE: onerous applies to that which is laborious or troublesome, often because of its annoyingor tedious character [the onerous task of taking inventory]; burdensome applies to that which is wearisome or oppressive to the mind or spirit as well asto the body [burdensome responsibilities]; oppressive stresses the overbearing cruelty of the person or thing that inflicts hardship, oremphasizes the severity of the hardship itself [oppressive weather, an oppressive king]; exacting suggests the making of great demands on the attention, skill, care, etc. [an exacting supervisor, exacting work]
Derived forms
onerously (ˈonerously)
adverb
onerousness (ˈonerousness)
noun
Word origin
ME < MFr onereus < L onerosus < onus, a load: see onus
Examples of 'onerous' in a sentence
onerous
They need a less onerous capital reserves regime.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Maybe some people would prefer to have a peerage without the onerous duty.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
This is a much more onerous and depressing task.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The work has gradually become less onerous than in the early years.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
It has only inched towards rolling back onerous employment regulations.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Were not their crosses just as onerous and burdensome and heavy?
Christianity Today (2000)
There is no more onerous a task than taking responsibility for our own lives and behaviour.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The fact that employment regulation is a creeping burden does not make it any less onerous.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
It does not follow from this that the banks should face more onerous regulation now.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Recording activity is itself an onerous task.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Canadian companies still have to meet onerous regulations.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It is an onerous task and time is short.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The task and responsibility were onerous.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
She thought she could add value and it isn't too onerous a duty.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
It felt like it was quite an onerous responsibility, making a programme about the church.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
This was generally a much less onerous task than many managers feared, she said.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
In these circumstances, policymakers have an onerous responsibility but an easy message to convey.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Shrewsbury had discharged his onerous duty over a period of fifteen years, during which time his health and his fortune had been significantly depleted.
Jane Dunn ELIZABETH AND MARY: Cousins, Rivals, Queens (2003)
In other languages
onerous
British English: onerous ADJECTIVE
If you describe a task as onerous, you dislike having to do it because you find it difficult or unpleasant.
...parents who have had the onerous task of bringing up a very difficult child.
American English: onerous
Brazilian Portuguese: oneroso
Chinese: 费力的
European Spanish: arduo
French: lourd
German: schwer
Italian: gravoso
Japanese: 煩わしい
Korean: 힘든
European Portuguese: oneroso
Latin American Spanish: arduo
(adjective)
Definition
(of a task) difficult to carry out
parents who have had the onerous task of bringing up a difficult child
Synonyms
trying
The whole business has been very trying.
hard
Coping with three babies is very hard work.
taxing
You won't be asked to do anything too taxing.
demanding
It is a demanding job.
difficult
It is difficult to read the sign from here.
heavy
They bear a heavy burden of responsibility.
responsible
grave
crushing
arduous
The task was more arduous than he had calculated.
exhausting
She had set herself an exhausting schedule.
exacting
He was not well enough to carry out such an exacting task.
formidable
We have a formidable task ahead of us.
troublesome
The economy has become a troublesome problem for the party.
oppressive
weighty
the weighty responsibility of organizing the entire event
laborious
Keeping the garden tidy all year round can be a laborious task.
burdensome
The outlay so far has not been too burdensome.
irksome
backbreaking
exigent
Opposites
light
,
easy
,
simple
,
trifling
,
effortless
,
painless
,
facile
,
undemanding
,
cushy (informal)
,
untaxing
,
unexacting
Additional synonyms
in the sense of arduous
Definition
difficult to accomplish
The task was more arduous than he had calculated.
Synonyms
difficult,
trying,
hard,
tough,
tiring,
severe,
painful,
exhausting,
punishing,
harsh,
taxing,
heavy,
steep,
formidable,
fatiguing,
rigorous,
troublesome,
gruelling,
strenuous,
onerous,
laborious,
burdensome,
backbreaking,
toilsome (literary)
in the sense of burdensome
The outlay so far has not been too burdensome.
Synonyms
troublesome,
trying,
taxing,
difficult,
heavy,
crushing,
exacting,
oppressive,
weighty,
onerous,
irksome
in the sense of demanding
Definition
requiring a lot of skill, time, or effort
It is a demanding job.
Synonyms
difficult,
trying,
hard,
taxing,
wearing,
challenging,
tough,
exhausting,
exacting,
exigent
Synonyms of 'onerous'
onerous
Explore 'onerous' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of difficult
Definition
not easy to do, understand, or solve
It is difficult to read the sign from here.
Synonyms
hard,
tough,
taxing,
demanding,
challenging,
painful,
exacting,
formidable,
uphill,
strenuous,
problematic,
arduous,
onerous,
laborious,
burdensome,
wearisome,
no picnic (informal),
toilsome,
like getting blood out of a stone
in the sense of exacting
Definition
making rigorous or excessive demands
He was not well enough to carry out such an exacting task.
Synonyms
demanding,
hard,
taxing,
difficult,
tough,
painstaking
in the sense of exhausting
She had set herself an exhausting schedule.
Synonyms
tiring,
hard,
testing,
taxing,
difficult,
draining,
punishing,
crippling,
fatiguing,
wearying,
gruelling,
sapping,
debilitating,
strenuous,
arduous,
laborious,
enervating,
backbreaking
in the sense of exigent
Synonyms
demanding,
hard,
taxing,
difficult,
tough,
severe,
strict,
exacting,
harsh,
stiff,
rigorous,
stringent,
arduous
in the sense of formidable
Definition
frightening because very difficult to deal with or overcome
We have a formidable task ahead of us.
Synonyms
difficult,
taxing,
challenging,
overwhelming,
staggering,
daunting,
mammoth,
colossal,
arduous,
very great,
onerous,
toilsome (literary)
in the sense of hard
Definition
showing or requiring a lot of effort or application
Coping with three babies is very hard work.
Synonyms
exhausting,
tough,
exacting,
formidable,
fatiguing,
wearying,
rigorous,
uphill,
gruelling,
strenuous,
arduous,
laborious,
burdensome,
Herculean,
backbreaking,
toilsome
in the sense of heavy
Definition
hard to fulfil
They bear a heavy burden of responsibility.
Synonyms
onerous,
hard,
difficult,
severe,
harsh,
tedious,
intolerable,
oppressive,
grievous,
burdensome,
wearisome,
vexatious,
hevE
in the sense of laborious
Definition
involving great exertion or prolonged effort
Keeping the garden tidy all year round can be a laborious task.
Synonyms
hard,
difficult,
tiring,
exhausting,
wearing,
tough,
fatiguing,
uphill,
strenuous,
arduous,
tiresome,
onerous,
burdensome,
herculean,
wearisome,
backbreaking,
toilsome (literary)
in the sense of taxing
You won't be asked to do anything too taxing.
Synonyms
demanding,
trying,
wearing,
heavy,
tough,
tiring,
punishing,
exacting,
stressful,
sapping,
onerous,
burdensome,
wearisome,
enervating
in the sense of troublesome
Definition
causing trouble
The economy has become a troublesome problem for the party.
Synonyms
bothersome,
trying,
taxing,
demanding,
difficult,
worrying,
upsetting,
annoying,
irritating,
tricky,
harassing,
oppressive,
arduous,
tiresome,
inconvenient,
laborious,
burdensome,
hard,
worrisome,
irksome,
wearisome,
vexatious,
importunate,
pestilential,
plaguy (informal)
Additional synonyms
in the sense of weighty
Definition
important or serious
the weighty responsibility of organizing the entire event