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
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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:
Some tips for scaredy cats: If you don’t like spooky scary skeletons, creepy crawlies, or horror flicks, Halloween season can be a fright to endure.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026
America has had to endure financial crises, stock-market crashes and military setbacks, just like any other country.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
In the 28 September post, James wrote that "what this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable" and told survivors that "we stand with you".
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
By simply continuing to exist and endure this life you didn’t choose, you are no better than Digger Rockwell.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
“And shopping, too. I will miss my maternal responsibilities during your absence, of course, but I shall endure it somehow.”
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
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
The painful experience of the Hicks-Gillette ownership endures, hence the reluctance to throw support behind this possible new investment without more information.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 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
At last, after September, another weather arrives, an Indian summer that occasionally endures until Christmas.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
Hull KR's Lewis, who endured an inconsistent year, did enough to convince England head coach Brian McDermott that he should join captain Williams, the Warrington stand-off, and Wigan's Smith as half-back options.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Stafford has endured throughout his career by never getting too high or too low.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
Speaking from Gaza City, he said Palestinians were "living in graves while still alive" and have endured "severe suffering".
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Fortunes started to change in July, as investors endured a historic reversal in the AI-fueled momentum trade.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
“But you seem to have endured it well.”
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
In a sport full of elaborate buzz cuts and eye-searing bleach jobs, Erling’s striking blond mane, pulled into a tight bun, became one of the enduring images of the tournament.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
In a sport full of elaborate buzz cuts and eye-searing bleach jobs, the striking blond mane, pulled into a tight bun, became one of the enduring images of the tournament.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
"We hope that lessons will be learned from Mia's death and that changes will be made to prevent other families enduring the devastation that we now have to live with," they said.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Withers, the soul singer also known for enduring hits “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Lean on Me,” and jazz saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. released “Just the Two of Us” in 1981 for the latter’s “Winelight” album.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
Though the Semitic biblical cosmos toppled the Aristotelian one, the idea of an eternal, unchanging universe was not expunged completely, enduring even to the twentieth century.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
