burden

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“
Other funerals have I seen with grown-up eyes, since that day, of which the burden has been the same childish burden.

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Definitions (30)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (14)

  1. noun Something that is carried.
  2. noun Something that is emotionally difficult to bear.
  3. noun A source of great worry or stress; weight: The burden of economic sacrifice rests on the workers of the plant.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (6)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (4)

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Examples (50)

  • The music of the verses apparently changes in the third stanza, where the burden is altered; and I think he very artfully, seems more passionate at the conclusion, as 'tis natural for people to warm themselves by their own discourse, especially on a subject in which one is deeply concerned; 'tis certainly far more touching than our modern custom of concluding a song of passion with a turn which is inconsistent with it. —  Letters of the Right Honourable Lady M--y W--y M--e
  • She came against his chest and forgot that the burden was all her own. —  Longing
  • I hope to have no further trouble in this matter, for the burden is already heavy enough. —  Beethoven's Letters 1790-1826, Vol. 1 of 2
  • 'I simply lay down for half-an-hour or so Worn out with worry, I suppose Yes,' Dr Pendle sighed; 'my burden is almost greater than I can bear I quite agree with you,' replied Graham, 'therefore I have come to help you to bear it That is impossible. —  The Bishop's Secret
  • The removal of the burden was almost like unsnapping the cover of a Jack-in-the-box. —  Elsie Marley, Honey
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

responsibility ·  consequence ·  misery ·  weight ·  danger ·  amount ·  hardship ·  difficulty ·  strain ·  advantage ·  load ·  task

Used in the same contextWord Family

burden:   burdens ·  burdening ·  burdened
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (4)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. Middle English, from Old English byrthen; see bher-1 in Indo-European roots.
  2. Variant of bourdon.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Also, erroneously, burthen; from Middle English burdoun, the bass in music, the refrain of a song, from Old French *burdon, bourdon, French bourdon = Spanish bordon = Portuguese bordão = Italian bordone (Florio), a humming, buzzing, a drone or non-working bee, a bumblebee, also bass in music, refrain, from Middle Latin burdo(n-), a drone, a long organpipe; origin uncertain. See bourdon.
  2. from Middle English burdon, bordon, bourdon, from Old French bordon, bourdon, a staff: see bourdon.
 

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/ˈbərdn/
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