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, burden or inconvenience for those involved. That is to say, something onerous is something annoying, burdensome, that 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 burdens or heaviness.
It is common to use it in the legal, political and economic sphere, in contexts such as “onerous expenses”, “onerous charges” or “onerous quotas”, meaning that they are difficult to meet, that represent a significant waste of resources or that do not come from their reasonable management.
They are synonyms of onerous: annoying, heavy, expensive, burdensome and expensive; and they are instead antonyms: free, disinterested.
onerous contract
In legal language, there is a type of contract, called onerous contract, which grants the two parties involved certain obligations and/or economic advantages . These obligations must be fulfilled, either personally by the debtor or by a third party, and under the obligation to clean up the eviction.
That is to say, that In the event that there are hidden defects in the thing of the benefit, the debtor must protect or compensate the creditor of the obligation.
Examples of onerous contracts are: purchase and sale contracts, leases, transportation, employment and partnership contracts.
Act for consideration
Also called onerous act, it is, also in legal language, any act that gives rise to an obligation (that is, a restriction of rights) or a sacrifice for the parties involved, as opposed to gratuitous acts.
For example, a purchase and sale 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 for the recipient.
References
- “Oneroso, sa” in the Dictionary of the language of the Royal Spanish Academy.
- “Onerous” in Legal Encyclopedia.
- “Act for consideration” in Legal Encyclopedia.
- “Etymology of Oneroso” in Etymologies of Chile.net.
- “Onerous contract” in Wikipedia.
