albatross
6
8.4
- noun
- /ˈæl.bə.trɔs/
- Informal
:
carga
- Our legal process has become an albatross around our necks and a key element that stifles growth.
- an albatross around his neck
- become an albatross
- financial albatross
So there was this kind of the albatross around the neck of projects like this that they were fundamentally not taken seriously.
- So there was this kind of the albatross around the neck of projects like this that they were fundamentally not taken seriously.
Examples
-
Nevertheless, over the years, our legal process has become an albatross around our necks—a key element that stifles growth.
Blog text (20) -
Did I want the albatross off my neck?
Fiction book (1991) -
You look like a man with an albatross around his neck.
-
Something like an albatross around the neck...
-
I mean, this will be an albatross around his neck if he decides to run again.
-
Governor Romney did have an albatross around his neck.
Blog text (4) -
How his life could be so much freer if he didn't have them like an albatross around his neck.
Blog text (28) -
Hillary now wears Benghazi as an albatross around her neck.
Blog text (19) -
Over the years, she had become an albatross around his neck, dragging him down and inducing in him an unfamiliar state of depression.
Fiction book (1996) -
In the corporate world, the heavy debt felt like an albatross around his neck, making it hard for him to invest in new projects.
Synonyms
482
3.4
A heavy load or something that causes worry and difficulty
5
8.1
A heavy burden that makes life hard
2
8.6
A constant problem or responsibility that is hard to get rid of
2
8.7
A problem that stays with you and causes worry
1
6.3
A person or thing that keeps causing trouble for someone
1
7.0
Something that keeps causing you trouble or worry
Something that makes a task or journey harder
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
2
8.6
A constant problem or responsibility that is hard to get rid of
Compounds
- Australian
1
7.5
A very large sea bird that has a mostly white body and very long black wings and flies long distances
A large sea bird with dark feathers and black feet that flies over the North Pacific
How Burdensome
Surface Forms
Etymology
Albatross also has a figurative sense meaning a constant 'burden' because of a famous sailors' story and poem where an albatross is hung around a man's neck as a sign of guilt and bad luck. That's why calling something an albatross means it is a long-lasting problem that causes worry.