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.

See Examples For:

learn to live with

Well, that is a conundrum that Mrs. Waters, in the interest of avoiding confrontation with her life’s cognitive dissonance, should probably learn to live with.

From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026

“I guess soccer fans are just going to have to learn to live with it,” Fernandez said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

I’d learn to live with my new voice.

From Slate ● Apr. 18, 2026

"The grief part, you learn to live with it," said Kate.

From BBC ● Dec. 31, 2025

And Alex will have to learn to live with that, to use that pain to do better in the future.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

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