endure
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to hold out against; sustain without impairment or yielding; undergo.
to endure great financial pressures with equanimity.
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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)
-
to continue to exist; last.
These words will endure as long as people live who love freedom.
- Synonyms:
- abide
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to support adverse force or influence of any kind; suffer without yielding; suffer patiently.
Even in the darkest ages humanity has endured.
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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
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to undergo (hardship, strain, privation, etc) without yielding; bear
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(tr) to permit or tolerate
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(intr) to last or continue to exist
Related Words
Other Word Forms
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.
Celebrate the French Open by watching its greatest champion, Rafael Nadal, endure endless pain and injury in his indefatigable quest for tennis glory.
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026
MYC-driven cancers appear able to rapidly repair the DNA damage caused by treatment, allowing them to endure therapies that would normally destroy tumor cells.
From Science Daily • May 17, 2026
That could be trouble for dividend investors—although they aren’t likely to endure the kind of wipeout they faced when rates spiked in 2022.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
Farah says she did not experience a normal childhood - saying she instead learned to endure.
From BBC • May 14, 2026
The pain was almost impossible to endure, and Owen felt himself losing consciousness.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
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.
