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
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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:
Iran, however, has long faced sanctions and has so far shown a willingness to endure pain and a capacity to adapt to immense economic and military pressure as the conflict drags on.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Both productions also transgressed personal boundaries that pushed Panettiere to lows no one should endure, but so many stars growing up in the spotlight unfortunately do.
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026
That isn’t to say that stocks don’t occasionally endure periods of subpar returns.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
The academic had said in a public resignation letter that he had "reached the limits of what any person should reasonably be expected to endure".
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
Finally a day came when they could endure no longer.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
Tahmasebi and her son remain at a detention centre in Dilley, Texas, while her husband endures "horrible conditions" at a separate South Texas Detention Facility in Pearsall, she wrote in The Nation magazine, external.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
This involves choosing a patron saint, and Michael speaks with the wild enthusiasm of a Marvel movie fanboy about his likely decision, St. George, who endures various grisly tortures but remains steadfast.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
I am their hero, and now I am fighting to make sure the positive and real image they know of me is the one that endures.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
De la Espriella won Sunday's tightly-fought presidential election by less than a percentage point as Colombia endures its highest levels of violence in a decade.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
The Cloak was exactly what Xenophilius had described: A cloak that really and truly renders the wearer completely invisible, and endures eternally, giving constant and impenetrable concealment, no matter what spells are cast at it....
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
It was very likely caused by the whiplash he’s endured by tracking all of those line drives whizzing past his ear.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
"We are devastated by the deprivation of liberty being endured in Togo by our partners, our fathers, our sons and our brothers," they said.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Off, her experiences were shaped by the exploitation and hardship she endured.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Eukaryotic microfossils have endured billions of years of geological alteration and degradation, making already tiny remains even harder to detect.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
My father endured this teasing, because what else could he do?
From "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" by William Kamkwamba
She travelled to Cape Coast Castle, one of the many coastal fortresses that had been run by the British, and where enslaved people were held before enduring the brutal "Middle Passage" to the Americas.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Many of the diet’s principles are surprisingly simple, which could explain its enduring popularity and effectiveness and why nutrition experts often describe it as an eating pattern rather than a diet.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
He has styled himself as a "more moderate" version of his firebrand father, while relying heavily on his enduring political appeal.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
The deal is the latest example of the enduring appeal of top professional sports teams for the world’s wealthiest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Listening to Nate Crosby’s drivel was almost as bad as enduring potshots from Morris Sampson.
From "Confessions of a Murder Suspect" by James Patterson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
