endure

[ en-door, -dyoor ]

verb (used with object)

, en·dured, en·dur·ing.

1. to hold out against; sustain without impairment or yielding; undergo:

   to endure great financial pressures with equanimity.

2. to bear without resistance or with patience; tolerate:

   I cannot endure your insults any longer.

   Synonyms: brook, suffer, support, stand

3. to admit of; allow; bear:

   His poetry is such that it will not endure a superficial reading.

verb (used without object)

, en·dured, en·dur·ing.

1. to continue to exist; last:

   These words will endure as long as people live who love freedom.

   Synonyms: abide

   Antonyms: die, fail

2. to support adverse force or influence of any kind; suffer without yielding; suffer patiently:

   Even in the darkest ages humanity has endured.

3. to have or gain continued or lasting acknowledgment or recognition, as of worth, merit or greatness:

   His plays have endured for more than three centuries.

endure

/ ɪnˈdjʊə /

verb

1. to undergo (hardship, strain, privation, etc) without yielding; bear
2. tr to permit or tolerate
3. intr to last or continue to exist

Derived Forms

• enˌduraˈbility, noun
• enˈdurable, adjective
• enˈdurably, adverb

Other Words From

• en·durer noun
• unen·dured adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of endure¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English enduren, from Anglo-French, Old French endurer, from Latin indūrāre “to harden, make lasting,” equivalent to in- in- ² + dūrāre “to last, be or become hard,” derivative of dūrus “hard”

Word History and Origins

Origin of endure¹

C14: from Old French endurer, from Latin indūrāre to harden, from dūrus hard

Synonym Study

See bear ¹. See continue.

Example Sentences

And that is not a coincidence: The power to legally force a woman to endure the permanent and sometimes dangerous full-body evolution of gestating a pregnancy for nine months, followed by the pain and risk of childbearing, is not so different from the power to force a woman into sex.

From Slate

"This is every parent's very worst fear and a nightmare that no one should have to endure."

From BBC

But the dog — Mushie — has yet to turn up and the determined couple are now having to endure scam calls and pranksters barking into the phone line.

From Los Angeles Times

You endure a regular-season OPS of .654 for a postseason of two homers, eight RBIs, and a go-ahead dinger against the San Diego Padres in the deciding Game 5 of the division series.

From Los Angeles Times

Despite having N95 masks, they could endure work for only about two hours before they were sent home because of worsening air quality.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• brave
• encounter
• experience
• face
• feel
• go through
• know
• ride out
• suffer
• sustain
• tolerate
• undergo
• weather
• withstand