endure
en-DYOOR
/ɪnˈdjʊər/
To suffer (something painful or difficult) patiently; to remain in existence.
Carries a heavy sense of burden and the strength required to survive it.
The story behind the word. From Latin 'indurare', meaning 'to make hard'. To endure is to make your heart or body as hard as stone so that pain cannot break you.
Word relationships
- tolerate: Tolerate is more passive; endure suggests a more active, long-term survival of difficulty.
- succumb: Succumb means to give in or fail under pressure; endure means to withstand it.
Commonly confused with
- last: Last is neutral; endure implies surviving something that could have destroyed you.
Word family
- endurance (noun): The ability to withstand hardship or adversity.
- enduring (adjective): Lasting over a long period of time.
Collocations
- endure hardship
- endure the pain
- endure for centuries
Example sentences
- "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." A verse from the Bible about faith.
Memory hook
Endure has 'dure' like 'durable'. Durable things last a long time. Hard enough to last.
When not to use
Don't use it for simple continuation; it must involve some level of hardship or time-testing.
Fun facts
- The word 'durable' and 'during' both come from the same root as 'endure'.
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