onerous UK /ˈɒnəɹəs/US /ˈɑnəɹəs/ adjective1 •Imposing or constituting a physical, mental, or figurative load which can be borne only with effort; burdensome.Again, and more intensely than ever, she desired a fixed occupation,—no matter how onerous, how irksome. — 1849 formsmore onerous · most onerous