inured

American  

[in-yoord, ih-noord] / ɪnˈyʊərd, ɪˈnʊərd /

Also enured

adjective

1. hardened by frequent exposure, especially to something bad; accustomed.

   I realize that many teens have seen online porn and may be somewhat inured to scenes that seemed shocking to me.

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verb

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

Other Word Forms

• inuredness
  noun
• uninured
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of inured

inure ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Explanation

If you have gotten so many mosquito bites in your life that they no longer bother you, you have become inured to them. This means you have become accustomed to tolerating them. This adjective is derived from the 16th-century phrase in ure, meaning “in use” or “in practice.” When you are inured to something, you have probably had a lot of persistent exposure to it, and it’s usually something negative. People can become inured to pain, inured to violence, and even inured to the sound of a little yappy dog that won’t stop barking.

Example Sentences

For much of LIV's four and a bit seasons, observers have become inured to the riches of its 14 tournaments.

From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026

Thursday’s benign reading of 16 points, a level that indicates broad market neutrality, seems par for the course in a market that’s growing inured to political risks.

From Barron's • Jan. 22, 2026

First, investors may have grown inured to Trump.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 19, 2026

We may be too inured these days to the unceasing drumbeat of immigration’s realities and disinformation to expect “The Old Oak,” as deeply emotional as it is, to have a similar impact.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2024

All right, so she could never be inured to Bahar.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

Related Words

• accustomed
• chronic
• deep-rooted
• deep-seated
• dyed-in-the-wool
• entrenched
• fixed
• habituated
• ingrained
• inveterate