disburden

[ dis-bur-dn ]

verb (used with object)

1. to remove a burden from; rid of a burden.
2. to relieve of anything oppressive or annoying:

   Confession disburdened his mind of anxiety.

3. to get rid of (a burden); discharge.

verb (used without object)

1. to unload a burden.

disburden

/ dɪsˈbɜːdən /

verb

1. to remove a load from (a person or animal)
2. tr to relieve (oneself, one's mind, etc) of a distressing worry or oppressive thought

Derived Forms

• disˈburdenment, noun

Other Words From

• dis·burden·ment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of disburden¹

First recorded in 1525–35; dis- ¹ + burden ¹

Example Sentences

It suggests a kind of heaven: a place a person might go to achieve universal salvation, to be disburdened of her sins and returned to eternity.

From The New Yorker

At one point, Faye thinks that the storytelling impulse itself “might spring from the desire to avoid guilt,” to “disburden ourselves of responsibility.”

From New York Times

After all this, The Blot was “a conscious attempt to get back to a more straightforward storytelling”; it is mostly “disburdened of social ethical frameworks”.

From The Guardian

The prevailing trend of our time is, it seems, a disburdening of the past.

From The New Yorker

The Internet may have freed many to disburden themselves of their views.

From New York Times