ˈänərəs, ˈōn- adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French onereus, from Latin onerosus, from oner-, onus burden + -osus -ose; akin to Sanskrit anas cart and perhaps to Greek ania grief
1.
a. : that involves, imposes, or constitutes much oppressive or irksome work, effort, difficulty, or responsibility : heavily demanding : troublesome , burdensome
onerous duties
an onerous political system
an onerous task
b. : that involves, imposes, or constitutes a legal burden
onerous property
an onerous option
2. : of or relating to something done or given for an equivalent
an onerous grant
Synonyms:
onerous , burdensome , oppressive , and exacting can mean, in common, imposing great trouble, labor, or hardship. onerous implies laboriousness or heaviness and usually connotes irksomeness
an unending, tiring, onerous job
the tyranny of a majority might be more onerous than that of a despot — A.N.Whitehead
a permanent agreement which should remove onerous taxes — Enyc. Americana
burdensome usually implies both mental and physical strain
a burdensome responsibility
the burdensome customs regulations and the unfair tax laws — Allan Nevins & H.S.Commager
a burdensome bureaucratic structure — Current Biography
oppressive adds to burdensome the idea of distress to spirit or body, usually implying extreme harshness or severity and suggesting excessive impositions, cruelty, or tyranny
the utter solitude and silence were oppressive — Herman Melville
oppressive taxes
others who have lived under oppressive governments get into the fixed habit of not telling the truth to government officials — M.R.Cohen
one distant universal enemy is less oppressive than a thousand unchecked pilferers and plotters at home — George Santayana
exacting implies great demands, suggesting rigor, sternness, or extreme fastidiousness rather than oppression
aristocrats subjected themselves as proudly and willingly to the exacting discipline of the warrior — Edith Hamilton
the pity of it was that even the least exacting husband should so often desire something more piquant than goodness — Ellen Glasgow
an exacting standard for the economic system — J.M.Clark
exacting specifications