learn to live with

Idioms

Get used to or accustom oneself to something that is painful, annoying, or unpleasant. For example, The doctor said nothing more could be done about improving her sight; she'd just have to learn to live with it, or Pat decided she didn't like the new sofa but would have to learn to live with it.

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.

I’d learn to live with my new voice.

From Slate • Apr. 18, 2026

For Schwab’s strategists, investors will simply have to learn to live with stubborn inflation.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 10, 2025

Among the growing piles of neatly stored cardboard, papers and blister packs, she said if the strike went on any longer, she would "learn to live with it".

From BBC • Jul. 3, 2025

Then you learn to live with it, eventually thriving on it.

From Salon • Jun. 26, 2025

“They learn to live with it, I guess. When the wind’s up like this, they gotta stay inside, keep the windows closed.”

From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023