Showing results for "endowed"

• past participle of endow.
• past tense form of endow.

endowed

American  

[en-doud] / ɛnˈdaʊd /

adjective

1. supported by a permanent fund or source of income.

   A cooperative owned by 50 families set up the endowed scholarship in 2000.

2. naturally possessing a certain quality, talent, physical feature, or other advantage, especially a sexually attractive feature.

   She bunched up the blouse behind her to look at herself and sighed at her modestly endowed body.

   Countries far less endowed than ours have made greater economic progress through greater coherence and unity of purpose.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of endow.

Other Word Forms

• unendowed
  adjective
• well-endowed
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of endowed

endow ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Explanation

When you're stuck on a really tricky math problem, you might ask your best friend for help, especially if she happens to be endowed with impressive mathematical skills. Endowed means "provided or equipped with." When you have a special ability, you can say you're endowed with it. You can also be endowed with a quality, like beauty. Endowed is often used to describe something you're born with, though it can also refer to something that's been learned. Endowed traditionally meant "provided with money," especially when it came to a woman's dowry, the money she brought into a marriage. It's still used this way when someone donates, or endows, money to an institution.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

endowed

But they note in some districts the percentage of foreign owners already exceeds the 15 percent limit, particularly in "territories endowed with water and mineral resources, or logistical advantages," such as ports.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

That practice must end, because it is a "complete devaluation of the resource that is so fortunately endowed in places like Nigeria and other countries," he told BBC Focus on Africa.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

The achievement of July 1776 was to articulate an idea—that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are inalienable rights endowed by the Creator—that could justify, sustain and reward that kind of earnestness.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

The 1994 tournament also gave birth to Major League Soccer, the largest first-division league in the world, and endowed a foundation that has funded grassroots soccer development for more than a generation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

“She is endowed with beauty,” Old Granny said.

From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya