Meaning & use
unburden yourself
Last updated
Meanings
phraseintransitive
To tell someone about worries or secrets that have been troubling you, so that you feel relieved.
Grammar: Used reflexively with yourself, herself, himself, etc.; it takes no other object, and often follows to someone or about something.
Patterns
- unburden yourself to someone
- unburden yourself about something
- unburden yourself of something
She finally unburdened herself to her sister about the debt.
He unburdened himself of the guilt he had carried for years.
If you unburden yourself, you may find the problem easier to face.
phrasetransitiveformal
To get rid of something heavy or troublesome that you have been carrying or holding.
Grammar: Here yourself is the object and of introduces what is removed: unburden yourself of a duty.
Patterns
- unburden yourself of something
The company unburdened itself of several loss-making stores.
He unburdened himself of the old furniture before moving.
Common combinations
- unburden yourself to a friend
- It helps to unburden yourself to a friend you trust.
- unburden yourself of a secret
- She unburdened herself of a secret she had kept for years.
- finally unburden yourself
- He finally unburdened himself after months of silence.
- unburden yourself about your worries
- Patients are encouraged to unburden themselves about their worries.
Synonyms and how they differ
- confide
- Confide means telling someone a secret, usually without the idea of relief; unburden yourself stresses the emotional release.
- get something off your chest
- This informal phrase means almost the same but is much more casual than unburden yourself.
- open up
- Open up means starting to talk about feelings; unburden yourself suggests you have been holding something in for a while.
Opposites
Word family
- unburden verb
- The base verb, used with an object: unburden your mind.
- burden noun
- A heavy load or a difficult duty that weighs on you.
- burdensome adjective
- Causing trouble or worry; heavy to deal with.
Commonly confused: unburden yourself or burden yourself?
unburden yourself vs burden yourself
Burden yourself means loading yourself with something difficult, the opposite idea; unburden yourself means putting that weight down.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
The phrase is reflexive and takes to before the listener: unburden yourself to someone. Option 2 drops yourself, option 3 drops yourself as well, and option 4 wrongly uses of before the person.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “unburden yourself”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.