Adjacent Words

Encumbrance definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ENCUM'BRANCE, n. A load; any thing that impedes motion, or renders it difficult and laborious; clog; impediment.
1. Useless addition or load.
Strip from the branching Alps their piny load,
The huge encumbrance of horrific wood.
2. Load or burden on an estate; a legal claim on an estate, for the discharge of which the estate is liable.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an onerous or difficult concern; "the burden of responsibility"; "that's a load off my mind" [syn: burden, load, encumbrance, incumbrance, onus]
2: a charge against property (as a lien or mortgage) [syn: encumbrance, incumbrance]
3: any obstruction that impedes or is burdensome [syn: hindrance, hinderance, hitch, preventive, preventative, encumbrance, incumbrance, interference]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 1535 1. something that encumbers ; impediment, burden 2. a claim (as a mortgage) against property

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a burden. 2 an impediment. 3 a mortgage or other charge on property. 4 an annoyance. Phrases and idioms: without encumbrance having no children. Etymology: ME f. OF encombrance (as ENCUMBER)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Incumbrance In*cum"brance, n. [See Encumbrance.] [Written also encumbrance.] 1. A burdensome and troublesome load; anything that impedes motion or action, or renders it difficult or laborious; clog; impediment; hindrance; check. --Cowper. 2. (Law) A burden or charge upon property; a claim or lien upon an estate, which may diminish its value.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Encumbrance En*cum"brance, n. [Cf. OF. encombrance. Cf. Incumbrance.] 1. That which encumbers; a burden which impedes action, or renders it difficult and laborious; a clog; an impediment. See Incumbrance. 2. (Law) Same as Incumbrance. Syn: Burden; clog; impediment; check; hindrance.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(encumbrances) An encumbrance is something or someone that encumbers you. (FORMAL) Magdalena considered the past an irrelevant encumbrance. = burden N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. [Written also Incumbrance.] 1. Load, clog, impediment, hindrance, deadweight, drag. 2. Debt, claim, liability.

Moby Thesaurus

affliction, albatross, bale, bitter cup, bitter draft, bitter draught, bitter pill, burden, burden of care, burdening, burthen, cankerworm of care, care, cargo, charge, charging, client, clog, cross, crown of thorns, cumber, cumbrance, curse, deadweight, dependent, difficulty, disadvantage, distress, drag, embarrassment, freight, gall, gall and wormwood, grievance, hamper, handicap, hardship, hindrance, impedance, impediment, impedimenta, imposition, inconvenience, incubus, incumbency, infliction, lading, liability, load, loading, lumber, millstone, obstacle, obstruction, onus, oppression, overload, overtaxing, overweighting, pack, pack of troubles, peck of troubles, penalty, pensionary, pensioner, pressure, protege, public charge, saddling, sea of troubles, sorrow, superincumbency, surcharge, taxing, thorn, trouble, ward, waters of bitterness, weight, white elephant, woe