endure Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb put up with something or somebody unpleasant
    stomach; brook; support; put up; tolerate; bear; abide; stick out; suffer; digest; stand.
    • I cannot bear his constant criticism
    • The new secretary had to endure a lot of unprofessional remarks
    • he learned to tolerate the heat
    • She stuck out two years in a miserable marriage
  2. verb face and withstand with courage
    brave out; weather; brave.
    • She braved the elements
  3. verb continue to live through hardship or adversity
    live on; last; hold up; live; hold out; go; survive.
    • We went without water and food for 3 days
    • These superstitions survive in the backwaters of America
    • The race car driver lived through several very serious accidents
    • how long can a person last without food and water?
  4. verb undergo or be subjected to
    suffer.
    • He suffered the penalty
    • Many saints suffered martyrdom
  5. verb last and be usable
    wear; hold out.
    • This dress wore well for almost ten years
  6. verb persist for a specified period of time
    last.
    • The bad weather lasted for three days
  7. verb continue to exist
    run; die hard; prevail; persist.
    • These stories die hard
    • The legend of Elvis endures

WordNet

En*dure" intransitive verb
Etymology
F. endurer; pref. en- (L. in) + durer to last. See Dure, v. i., and cf. Indurate.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Endured ; present participle & verbal noun Enduring
Definitions
  1. To continue in the same state without perishing; to last; to remain.
    Their verdure still endure. Shak.
    He shall hold it [his house] fast, but it shall not endure. Job viii. 15.
  2. To remain firm, as under trial or suffering; to suffer patiently or without yielding; to bear up under adversity; to hold out.
    Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong in the days that I shall deal with thee? Ezek. xxii. 14.
En*dure" transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To remain firm under; to sustain; to undergo; to support without breaking or yielding; as, metals endure a certain degree of heat without melting; to endure wind and weather.
    Both were of shining steel, and wrought so pure, As might the strokes of two such arms endure. Dryden.
  2. To bear with patience; to suffer without opposition or without sinking under the pressure or affliction; to bear up under; to put up with; to tolerate.
    I will no longer endure it. Shak.
    Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sake. 2 Tim. ii. 10.
    How can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? Esther viii. 6.
  3. To harden; to toughen; to make hardy. Obs.
    Manly limbs endured with little ease. Spenser.
    Syn. -- To last; remain; continue; abide; brook; submit to; suffer.

Webster 1913