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inure

[in-yoo r, ih-noo r]
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verb (used with object), in·ured, in·ur·ing.
  1. to accustom to hardship, difficulty, pain, etc.; toughen or harden; habituate (usually followed by to): inured to cold.
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verb (used without object), in·ured, in·ur·ing.
  1. to come into use; take or have effect.
  2. to become beneficial or advantageous.
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Also enure.

Origin of inure

1480–90; v. use of phrase in ure, en ure in use, customary < Anglo-French en ure in use, at work, equivalent to en in + ure < Latin opera, plural of opus work; compare French oeuvre
Related formsin·ur·ed·ness [in-yoo r-id-nis, ih-noo r-, in-yoo rd-, ih-noo rd-] /ɪnˈyʊər ɪd nɪs, ɪˈnʊər-, ɪnˈyʊərd-, ɪˈnʊərd-/, nounin·ure·ment, nounun·in·ured, adjective
Can be confusedinhere inure
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for inured

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Inured as I had been by circumstances to bad smells, this conquered me.

  • He looked at us with the patience of one inured to bourgeois comment.

    Pipefuls

    Christopher Morley

  • All were in middle life, strong, rugged, and inured to hardship.

  • You have suffered so much before that your soul must now be inured to misfortune.

    Lucretia Borgia

    Ferdinand Gregorovius

  • From early youth I was inured to a certain degree of painfulness in the lesson.

    The King's Mirror

    Anthony Hope

British Dictionary definitions for inured

inure

enure

verb
  1. (tr; often passive often foll by to) to cause to accept or become hardened to; habituate
  2. (intr) (esp of a law, etc) to come into operation; take effect
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Derived Formsinuredness or enuredness (ɪˈnjʊərɪdnɪs), nouninurement or enurement, noun

Word Origin

C15 enuren to accustom, from ure use, from Old French euvre custom, work, from Latin opera works, plural of opus
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for inured

inure

v.

early 15c., in ure "in practice," from obsolete ure "work, practice, exercise, use," probably from Old French uevre, oeuvre "work," from Latin opera (see opus). Related: Inured; inuring.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper