burdensome

English

WOTD – 7 October 2010

Etymology

From burden +‎ -some.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbɜː.dən.səm/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈbɝ.dən.səm/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈbɜː.dən.səm/, [ˈbɜː.ɾən.səm]

  • Audio (Queensland):

    (file)

• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈbøː.dən.səm/

Adjective

burdensome (comparative more burdensome, superlative most burdensome)

1. Characteristic of a burden; arduous or demanding
   • 1748, David Hume, Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of morals, London: Oxford University Press, published 1973, § 6:

     . . . reap a pleasure from what, to the generality of mankind, may seem burdensome and laborious.

   • 1959 November, J. N. Westwood, “The Railways of Canada”, in Trains Illustrated, page 555:

     Finally, there are the commuter trains. Both companies operate these around the big cities and both find them burdensome, owing to the lack of off-peak travel.

Synonyms

• (of or like a burden): arduous, demanding, exacting, onerous, taxing

Derived terms

• burdensomely
• burdensomeness
• nonburdensome
• overburdensome
• unburdensome

Related terms

• burden

Translations

of or like a burden; arduous or demanding

• Bulgarian: тежък (bg) (težǎk), труден (bg) (truden), обременяващ (bg) (obremenjavašt)
• Catalan: gravós
• Estonian: koormav
• Finnish: raskas (fi), rasittava (fi), vaivalloinen (fi), (informal) hikinen (fi), rankka (fi)
• French: pénible (fr), ardu (fr), pesant (fr), fastidieux (fr), écrasant (fr), chiant (fr), casse-cul (fr), prise de tête (fr), emmerdant (fr)
• German: beschwerlich (de), belastend (de)
• Gothic: 𐌺𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌿𐍃 (kaurus)
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἀχθεινός (akhtheinós)

• Hawaiian: hoʻokua
• Irish: tuirsiúil, tónáisteach
• Italian: gravoso (it), oneroso (it) m, ostico (it) m
• Latin: onerōsus
• Middle English: hevysum
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: byrdefull

  Nynorsk: børefull, byrdefull

• Polish: uciążliwy (pl) m
• Portuguese: exigente (pt)
• Russian: обременительный (ru) (obremenitelʹnyj), тягостный (ru) (tjagostnyj), тяжёлый (ru) (tjažólyj), тя́жкий (ru) (tjážkij)
• Spanish: exigente (es), pesado (es), penoso (es), arduo (es), agotador (es), fastidioso (es), puñeta, oneroso (es) m, dispendioso (es) m, cargoso (es), gravoso (es)
• Ukrainian: обтя́жливий (obtjážlyvyj)
• Welsh: beichus (cy), llethol (cy)

References

• “burdensome”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.