Burden
Burden noun - Something one must do because of prior agreement.
Usage example: the burden of homework prevented the youngster from joining his friends at the game
Need and burden are semantically related in obligation topic. In some cases you can use "Need" instead a noun "Burden".
Need
Need noun - Something one must do because of prior agreement.
Usage example: no need to apologize
Burden and need are semantically related in obligation topic. Sometimes you can use "Burden" instead a noun "Need".
Mutual synonyms
How words are described
| emotional | emotional burden | emotional need |
| old | old burden | old need |
| physical | physical burden | physical need |
| particular | particular burden | particular need |
| Other adjectives: sheer, actual, real, constant, large, great, serious, huge, social, secret, psychological, greater, increasing, sudden. | ||
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
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In "The Burden", Principal Brown tells Darwin and Gumball to "clear your diaries" when they need to take care of the school hamster.
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In Courtship Rite the planet they live on has no beasts of burden, so to travel over land people need to either walk or be carried.
Source: Too Important to Walk - As such, their servants lack any of the more advanced technology (as that would ease their burden) and do everything by hand, even things that don't need to be done by hand (such as holding Lord Kamar Hahn's desk, which has no legs).
Cite this Source
Need and Burden. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 22, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/burden/need
Burden & Need. N.p., 2016. Web. 22 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/burden/need>.
Need or Burden. 2016. Accessed July 22, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/burden/need.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "burden" and "need" have occurred on timeline