We explain what something onerous is, its origin, synonyms and antonyms. Also, what is an onerous contract and an onerous act.
What is something onerous?
In general, the term onerous is used for those transactions, expenses, decisions and elements that represent a cost, a burden or a nuisance for those involved. That is, something onerous is something annoying, burdensome, which implies certain obligations, positive or negative.
This word comes from Latin, specifically from the voices onus, “Load” or “weight”, and the suffix -osus, "Abundance", so that from its origins the term was used for that which was abundant in loads or heaviness.
It is common to use it in the legal, political and economic fields, in contexts such as "onerous expenses", "onerous charges" or "onerous fees", meaning that they are difficult to meet, that represent a significant loss of resources or that they do not come from a management reasonable of them.
Are synonyms of onerous: annoying, heavy, expensive, burdensome and expensive; and they are instead antonyms: gratuitous, disinterested.
Onerous contract
In legal language, there is a type of contract, called an onerous contract, which grants the two parties involved certain obligations and / or economic advantages. Said obligations must be fulfilled, either personally by the debtor or by a third party, and under the obligation to correct the eviction.
That is, in the event that there are hidden defects in the provision, the debtor must protect or compensate the creditor of the obligation.
Examples of onerous contracts are: purchase-sale contracts, leases, transportation contracts, of work and society.
Act for consideration
Also called onerous act, it is, also in legal language, any act that causes an obligation (that is, a restriction of rights) or a sacrifice for the parties involved, as opposed to the acts gratuitously.
For example, a sale and purchase is an onerous act, since both parties must deliver something of their own to the other (goods and money, respectively), while a donation is a gratuitous act, which does not entail obligations to the recipient.