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Glite Dictionary
weight of responsibility

weight of responsibility

1 4.9
A heavy feeling of pressure because you have important duties
  • noun
  • Informal
translation icon : peso de la responsabilidad
  • "I have to think!" Jacob shouted, feeling the crushing weight of responsibility and fear.
  • feel the weight of responsibility

Examples

  • Dean certainly lost his love for the job because of the constant losses and the crushing weight of responsibility.

    Blog text (27)

  • I feel a great weight of responsibility for it, even though that is not what I intended.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • The weight of responsibility for human hopes and for forty billion dollars.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Maybe you're feeling the weight of responsibility.

    Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2010)

  • Every survivalist today has at one time or another felt the overwhelming weight of responsibility that comes with knowing; not believing, but KNOWING the future.

    Blog text (18)

  • For a few moments, he wandered around the room, fighting against the heavy weight of responsibility that seemed sometimes on the verge of smothering him.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • It is in response to the weight of responsibility on companies and their top management that laws such as the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act were introduced in 2007.

    Blog text (9)

  • We feel a great weight of responsibility on our shoulders as leaders of our community.

  • After her promotion, she began to understand the weight of responsibility that came with the new role.

  • He struggled under the weight of responsibility for the team's success during the challenging project.

Synonyms

pressure
vsweight of responsibility
∞ 3.1

A strong feeling of stress from difficult demands

is the internal heavy burden felt from duties, not external demands
weight
vsweight of responsibility
181 4.2

A strong mental feeling of pressure or burden

is about pressure caused by important duties rather than general heaviness
load
vsweight of responsibility
91 4.1

A heavy burden of worry or responsibility

focuses on burden from important duties rather than any general worry
onus
vsweight of responsibility
  • Formal
19 7.9

A difficult duty or burden someone must deal with

is the felt heavy burden from important duties and obligations
weight of the world
vsweight of responsibility
  • Informal
13 7.3

A heavy feeling of worry and responsibility

is about pressure from specific important duties rather than many global troubles
millstone
vsweight of responsibility
  • Informal
5 8.1

A heavy burden that makes life hard

is pressure from important duties rather than a lasting crippling burden

Antonyms

freedom
489 1.1

Not having to do something a rule requires

How Burdensome

burden
482 3.4
weight of responsibility
  • Informal
1 4.9
responsibility
∞ 2.7
duty
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

weight of responsibility singular
weights of responsibility plural

Morphology

weight + of + responsibility

The phrase's meaning ('a heavy burden caused by duties') is directly derivable from 'weight' (burden/pressure) combined with 'responsibility' (duty), so a B1 learner who knows both words can plausibly infer the figurative sense. This metaphorical 'weight = burden' mapping is common cross-linguistically (e.g. Spanish/French equivalents), supporting immediate comprehensibility.

Etymology

The phrase weight of responsibility comes from a simple image of carrying something heavy on your shoulders. It links weight (something heavy) and responsibility (an important duty), so people imagine duties pressing down on them, which is why it means 'a heavy burden' or 'pressure'.