encumbrance
15 synonyms and 3 antonyms for encumbrance, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — A legal claim against a property, such as a mortgage, unpaid tax or right of way, that limits what the owner can do with it or must be settled before it is sold.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. noun legal
A legal claim against a property, such as a mortgage, unpaid tax or right of way, that limits what the owner can do with it or must be settled before it is sold.
“The title search revealed no encumbrances on the land.”
How to use encumbrance
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
Formal; the property sense is standard legal vocabulary, the general sense is literary.
Etymology
From Old French encombrance, from encombrer "to block up, obstruct".
Full origin of encumbrance →