endure
Americanverb (used with object)
-
endures,
present (3rd person singular)
-
endured,
past participle, past
-
enduring
present participle
-
to hold out against; sustain without impairment or yielding; undergo.
to endure great financial pressures with equanimity.
-
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)
-
endures,
present (3rd person singular)
-
endured,
past participle, past
-
enduring
present participle
-
to continue to exist; last.
These words will endure as long as people live who love freedom.
- Synonyms:
- abide
-
to support adverse force or influence of any kind; suffer without yielding; suffer patiently.
Even in the darkest ages humanity has endured.
-
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
-
to undergo (hardship, strain, privation, etc) without yielding; bear
-
(tr) to permit or tolerate
-
(intr) to last or continue to exist
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
enduresimple
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enduressimple
-
have enduredperfect
-
has enduredperfect
-
am enduringprogressive
-
are enduringprogressive
-
is enduringprogressive
-
have been enduringperfect progressive
-
has been enduringperfect progressive
Past
-
enduredsimple
-
had enduredperfect
-
was enduringprogressive
-
were enduringprogressive
-
had been enduringperfect progressive
Future
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.
See Examples For:
“What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable,” James said in a social-media post.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
Fan David Tejera said De Miguel's "effort" and "passion" for Tenerife would endure.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
Nevertheless, because it obtained a complaint, the government had to endure a multiday preliminary hearing during which the investigating agent was subjected to cross-examination by each defendant’s attorney.
From Slate ● Nov. 3, 2026
Not sure I want to endure another 7-5, no CFP season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026
I can endure this a little longer, a few more days.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
Stephen King’s classic may be more than half a century old and has undergone multiple adaptations, but it endures because its central moral that high school is hell never ages.
From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2026
The original ‘Star Trek’ premiered in 1966, and despite a rocky start, it endures and continues to inspire the franchise’s creatives, stars and fans who say its lessons are still relevant today.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
Carney said the goal of the energy support is "to help Ukrainians get through the winter," a difficult period when the country endures rolling blackouts amid often frigid temperatures.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
George W. Bush’s White House, the intellectual journey of Frederick Douglass, how folk music endures and more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
Dantès endures fourteen desperate years on that curséd isle, waiting for a window of opportunity to escape.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Having emerged at Charlton Athletic, and endured an unsuccessful move to Chelsea in 2004, he joined the Hammers from Newcastle United in June 2007, for a fee of £7m.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
Alphabet endured a punishing selloff of its own, while the Nasdaq closed out its worst month since March 2025.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026
Ricardo, who is the friend of a family that suffered a bereavement, said the victim's parents had endured three days without knowing what had become of their child.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
The series, by contrast, invites us to feel empathy toward her, or at least acknowledge the suffering she endured in her life even before losing her son.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
This woman, Mrs. Richardson thought, had endured so much.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
The result could be one of the most enduring examples of how the nervous system preserves its evolutionary history.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026
“We will forever cherish the peaceful ease and reflection on his face, an enduring reminder of his invincible grace.”
From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2026
Dolores Huerta, the fiery and resolute activist who helped launch and guide the nation’s first enduring labor union for poor farmworkers and later became an inspiration to women and liberal true believers, has died.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
“We are seeing encouraging signs from pacing suppliers as we deepen our commitment to enduring partnerships.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
The most tangible and enduring antislavery effects of the revolutionary mentality occurred in the northern states during and immediately after the war.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
