Endure Meaning
/ɪnˈd͡ʒʊə(ɹ)/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo continue or carry on, despite obstacles or hardships; to persist.
verbTo tolerate or put up with something unpleasant.
Sentence Examples
I cannot endure your going.
I can't endure the noise.
They had to endure a long wait before the case came to trial.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The soldiers had to ____ the extreme cold for many days.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The stranded hikers had to ____ freezing temperatures throughout the dark night.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Latin indūrō Latin indūrāreder. Old French endurerbor. Middle English enduren English endure From Middle English enduren, from Old French endurer, from Latin indūrō (“to make hard”). Displaced Old English drēogan, which survives dialectally as dree. Doublet of dure.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"[…] The life that almost dies in me:
That dies not, but endures with pain,
And slowly forms the firmer mind,
Treasuring the look it cannot find,
The words that are not heard again."
— 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XVIII”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 30:
"He ſhall leane vpon his houſe, but it ſhall not ſtand: he ſhal hold it faſt, but it ſhall not endure."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Job 8:15, column 2:
"Can thine heart indure, or can thine hands be ſtrong in the dayes that I ſhall deale with thee?"
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Ezekiel 22:14, column 1:
"Dirk Kuyt sandwiched a goal in between Carroll's double as City endured a night of total misery, with captain Carlos Tevez limping off early on with a hamstring strain that puts a serious question mark over his participation in Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United at Wembley."
— 2011 April 11, Phil McNulty, “Liverpool 3 - 0 Man City”, in BBC Sport:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The soldiers had to ____ the extreme cold for many days.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The stranded hikers had to ____ freezing temperatures throughout the dark night.