burdened

bur·den ¹  (bûrdn)

n.

1. Something that is carried.

2.

a. Something that is emotionally difficult to bear.

b. A source of great worry or stress; weight: The burden of economic sacrifice rests on the workers of the plant.

3. A responsibility or duty: The burden of organizing the campaign fell to me.

4. Nautical

a. The amount of cargo that a vessel can carry.

b. The weight of the cargo carried by a vessel at one time.

5. The amount of a disease-causing entity present in an organism.

tr.v. bur·dened, bur·den·ing, bur·dens

1. To weigh down; oppress.

2. To load or overload.

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[Middle English, from Old English byrthen; see bher-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

Synonyms: burden¹, affliction, cross, trial, tribulation
These nouns denote something onerous or troublesome: the burden of a guilty conscience; indebtedness that is an affliction; a temper that is her cross; a troublemaker who is a trial to the teacher; suffered many tribulations in rising from poverty. See Also Synonyms at substance.

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bur·den ²  (bûrdn)

n.

1. A principal or recurring idea; a theme: "The burden of what he said was to defend enthusiastically the conservative aristocracy" (J.A. Froude). See Synonyms at substance.

2. Music

a. The chorus or refrain of a composition, especially of a 15th-century carol.

b. A drone, as of a bagpipe or pedal point.

c. Archaic The bass accompaniment to a song.

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[Variant of bourdon.]

Thesaurus

Adj.	1.	burdened - bearing a heavy burden of work or difficulties or responsibilities; "she always felt burdened by the load of paper work" unburdened - not burdened with difficulties or responsibilities; "unburdened by an overarching theory"- Alex Inkeles
	2.	burdened - bearing a physically heavy weight or load; "tree limbs burdened with ice"; "a heavy-laden cart"; "loaded down with packages" heavy-laden, loaded down encumbered - loaded to excess or impeded by a heavy load; "a summer resort...encumbered with great clapboard-and-stucco hotels"- A.J.Liebling; "a hiker encumbered with a heavy backpack"; "an encumbered estate"