endure

[en-door, -dyoor]

verb (used with object)

endured, enduring 

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)

endured, enduring 

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

Other Word Forms

• endurer noun
• unendured adjective
• endurability noun
• endurable adjective
• endurably adverb

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

"We in no way supported him or agreed with any of his actions in the past four years. We are truly sorry for all that you had to endure."

Read more on BBC

“Mark’s memory — his warmth, generosity and commitment to community — will endure,” the club said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The scars endure like the lingering smell of soot in her parents’ home.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“For 37 days, our client was forced to endure medical treatment and recovery with ICE agents in his room, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” the statement read.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"I could not in good conscience approve an export that would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have endured," she said.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

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