weigh on

Thân thiện

The constant deadlines weigh on the project manager.

Definition

1. Verb (transitive):
   • To cause someone to feel worried, anxious, or burdened; to be a source of mental or emotional pressure.
   • To be oppressive or disheartening to someone.

Usage

The phrasal verb "weigh on" is used to describe a thought, problem, or responsibility that causes persistent worry or sadness. It often implies a heavy, burdensome feeling that affects a person's mood or state of mind. The subject is typically the source of the worry (e.g., a problem, a decision, guilt), and the object is the person affected.

Examples

• Verb:
  • The financial problems began to weigh on him. (He felt burdened and worried by the financial problems.)
  • Her guilt over the mistake weighed on her conscience for years. (The guilt caused her persistent emotional distress.)
  • The responsibility of leadership weighs heavily on the new manager. (The responsibility is a significant source of pressure for the manager.)

Advanced Usage

• "weigh heavily on": An intensified form, emphasizing a greater degree of burden or oppression.
  • The tragic news weighed heavily on the entire community.
• "weigh on someone's mind": A common collocation specifying that the burden is psychological.
  • The upcoming exam is really weighing on her mind.

Variants and Related Words

• Burden (verb): To load or weigh down; to cause difficulty or worry.
• Oppress (verb): To keep someone in subservience and hardship, often causing distress.
• Prey on one's mind: An idiom with a very similar meaning to "weigh on one's mind."

Synonyms

• Trouble: To cause distress or anxiety to.
• Distress: To cause anxiety, sorrow, or pain.
• Haunt: To persistently disturb or cause anxiety (e.g., ).

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Weigh down: Similar to "weigh on," but can be used more literally for physical weight and figuratively for emotional weight.
  • The heavy backpack weighed him down. (Literal)
  • She was weighed down by sorrow. (Figurative)

Related Idioms

• A weight off one's mind/shoulders: The opposite feeling; relief from a burden.
  • Finishing the project was a weight off his shoulders.

Học thuật

Verb

1. be oppressive or disheartening to

Từ đồng nghĩa

• weigh down