burden
2
6.7
- noun
- /ˈbɜrdən/
- During the debate, the burden of my speech centered on the importance of education.
Examples
-
It is the burden of this responsibility that will define you and who you choose to be.
-
OK, that is the burden of my remarks.
-
Well, I can see you don't fully appreciate... the incredible burden of my responsibility.
-
An important question, however, is whether this burden will be evenly distributed across income classes.
Academic text (1992) -
The post-war generations, as I learned, struggled with their burden in a variety of ways.
Academic text (1992) -
My brother had shouldered that burden, allowing me to pursue my own selfish needs.
Fiction book (1994) -
We agree with Justice Scalia and hope we have borne that burden well in this article.
Academic text (2017) -
The burden of perfection.
-
The burden of her argument was that we must take action to protect the environment.
-
He expressed the burden of his writing as a need to inspire change in society.
Synonyms
715
2.8
Main idea in a piece of writing, art, or talk
641
3.2
The most important central part of something
304
4.8
The central idea or most important part of something
172
4.3
The main idea of something said or written
47
3.1
A main idea in a talk or report
42
4.6
The main point of what someone says or writes
40
3.4
The main idea expressed in a speech or piece of writing
14
3.9
The most important part of a problem or discussion
1
4.2
The main idea of a speech, book, or discussion
1
3.4
The most important idea in a discussion or text
1
5.6
The main point someone makes in a discussion
Compounds
- Offensive
2
9.9
The idea that white people must rule and civilize non-white people
How Central
Surface Forms
Etymology
Burden originally meant something you carry and comes from an old English word; it is related to the common verb bear 'to carry'. It also once named the repeating line in a song that 'carried' the music, so the 'burden' of a speech is the main idea it 'carries' through the talk.