endure
Americanverb (used with object)
-
endures,
present (3rd person singular)
-
endured,
past participle, past
-
enduring
present participle
-
to hold out against; sustain without impairment or yielding; undergo.
to endure great financial pressures with equanimity.
-
to bear without resistance or with patience; tolerate.
I cannot endure your insults any longer.
-
to admit of; allow; bear.
His poetry is such that it will not endure a superficial reading.
verb (used without object)
-
endures,
present (3rd person singular)
-
endured,
past participle, past
-
enduring
present participle
-
to continue to exist; last.
These words will endure as long as people live who love freedom.
- Synonyms:
- abide
-
to support adverse force or influence of any kind; suffer without yielding; suffer patiently.
Even in the darkest ages humanity has endured.
-
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.
verb
-
to undergo (hardship, strain, privation, etc) without yielding; bear
-
(tr) to permit or tolerate
-
(intr) to last or continue to exist
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
enduresimple
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enduressimple
-
have enduredperfect
-
has enduredperfect
-
am enduringprogressive
-
are enduringprogressive
-
is enduringprogressive
-
have been enduringperfect progressive
-
has been enduringperfect progressive
Past
-
enduredsimple
-
had enduredperfect
-
was enduringprogressive
-
were enduringprogressive
-
had been enduringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of endure
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”
Explanation
If something endures, it lasts: Beethoven's fame has endured for more than 200 years. But if you endure something, you suffer through it: We endured our teacher's slide shows of her vacation photographs. Notice above that something that endures can be good or bad. Something you endure is always bad. And people are forever talking about what they can't or won't endure, as in "I refuse to endure any more abuse from my neighbors." Endure derives from the Latin indūrāre "to make hard," formed from the prefix in- "against, into" plus dūrus "hard."
Vocabulary lists containing endure
Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" (1863)
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List 5
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The Diary of Anne Frank
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Not everyone wants a spanking new kitchen and is prepared to endure the disruption that such a renovation would cause.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026
Nevertheless, because it obtained a complaint, the government had to endure a multiday preliminary hearing during which the investigating agent was subjected to cross-examination by each defendant’s attorney.
From Slate ● Nov. 3, 2026
Hebert believes the stories endure because it is still frightening to think of what humans are capable of.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
“If hyperscalers continue to report steady numbers, that will tell markets that the investment they are making can still endure in a rising rate environment,” said Mobeen Tahir, Thematic Strategist at asset manager WisdomTree.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
We’ll need to be brave to endure the many fears and hardships and the suffering yet to come.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
Stephen King’s classic may be more than half a century old and has undergone multiple adaptations, but it endures because its central moral that high school is hell never ages.
From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2026
The original ‘Star Trek’ premiered in 1966, and despite a rocky start, it endures and continues to inspire the franchise’s creatives, stars and fans who say its lessons are still relevant today.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
The eastern end of the piece was only eight miles from Santa Rosa, and local interest in the history of “Running Fence” endures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
"But it endures anyway as a tradition that forges character, one that sets us apart from other branches of the armed forces."
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
Dantès endures fourteen desperate years on that curséd isle, waiting for a window of opportunity to escape.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Alphabet endured a punishing selloff of its own, while the Nasdaq closed out its worst month since March 2025.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026
Mageean endured more Olympic heartache at the delayed Tokyo Games in 2021, when a calf injury disrupted her preparations as she exited from the heats.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
Ricardo, who is the friend of a family that suffered a bereavement, said the victim's parents had endured three days without knowing what had become of their child.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
The series, by contrast, invites us to feel empathy toward her, or at least acknowledge the suffering she endured in her life even before losing her son.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
Even if she won her freedom...even if she lived in peace in the countryside...those scars would always remind her of what she’d endured.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
Ambassador Rod Brazier said the countries were "enduring friends" and recalled support that Indonesia sent to help battle Australia's own devastating bushfires in 2020.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
The ECB chose not to raise interest rates last week despite the enduring pickup in energy prices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
The result could be one of the most enduring examples of how the nervous system preserves its evolutionary history.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026
The next mayor will have to deal with enduring problems of deteriorating infrastructure, police reform and budget woes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
The horrors Sheed was surely enduring were beyond imagining.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
