Meanings
present singular third person inures · participle present inuring · participle past inured · past inured · alternative enure
- transitiveTo cause someone to become accustomed to something that requires prolonged or repeated tolerance of one or more unpleasantries.First known use 16th c.
As Tom Paine warned, inuring us to lies lays the groundwork for many other evils.
1996, Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World5 more examples
Matcht with as valiant men, and of as cleane a might, / As skilfull to commaund, and as inur’d to fight.
1612, Michael Drayton, chapter 12, in [John Selden], editor, Poly-Olbion. Or A Chorographicall Description of Tracts, Riuers, Mountaines, Forests, and Other Parts of this Renowned Isle of Great Britaine, […], London: […] [Humphrey Lownes] for M[athew] Lownes; I[ohn] Browne; I[ohn] Helme; I[ohn] Busbie, →OCLC, page 196To none of these evidences of a fearful tragedy of a long dead day did little Tarzan give but passing heed. His wild jungle life had inured him to the sight of dead and dying animals, and had he known that he was looking upon the remains of his own father and mother he would have been no more greatly moved.
1912 October, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Tarzan of the Apes”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co., →OCLC; republished as chapter 6, in Tarzan of the Apes, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt Company, June 1914, →OCLCYour insults to myself can be endured, / I am a philosopher and am inured. / But there are insults that I will not swallow / That you have levelled at our gods.
1951, Geoffrey Chaucer, translated by Nevill Coghill, The Canterbury Tales: Translated into Modern English (Penguin Classics), Penguin Books, published 1977, page 465Young people all across the continent were inured to a level of public brutality, in words and actions, that would have shocked their nineteenth-century forebears.
2005, Tony Judt, “Culture Wars”, in Postwar: A history of Europe since 1945, London: Vintage Books, published 2010, →ISBNThis conflict produces a psychic numbing that inures us to the realities of being tracked, parsed, mined, and modified.
2018, Shoshana Zuboff, chapter 1, in The Age of Surveillance Capitalism - intransitivelawTo take effect, to be operative.First known use 16th c.
Jim buys a beach house that includes the right to travel across the neighbor's property to get to the water. That right of way is said "to inure to the benefit of Jim".
1 more example
If I understand the process correctly, cash refunds are turned into the United States Treasury, but price reductions inure to the particular department and increase its appropriations by whatever they collect.
1979, Bernard D. Reams (Jr.), Internal Revenue Acts of the United States, 1909-1950 (page 231)Synonyms: accrue
- obsoletetransitiveTo commit.
He […] gan that ladie strongly to appele / Of many haynous crymes by her enured.
1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book V, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 39
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo cause someone to become accustomed to something that requires prolonged or repeated tolerance of one or more unpleasantries.
verbTo take effect, to be operative.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishinuren
- Englishinure
From Middle English inuren, equivalent to in- + ure (“practise, exercise”).
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἐθίζω, οἰκειόω
- ἐθίζω (ethízō)to cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
- οἰκειόω (oikeióō)to cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
Bulgarian приучвам, влизам в сила
- приучвам (priučvam)to cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
- влизам в сила (vlizam v sila)to take effect, or to benefit someone
Czech navyknout, uvyknout
- navyknoutto cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
- uvyknoutto cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
- nabýt účinnostito take effect, or to benefit someone
Dutch verharden, harden
- verhardento cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
- hardento cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
- stalento cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
- gewennento cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
- in voege tredento take effect, or to benefit someone
- iemand begunstigento take effect, or to benefit someone
Finnish siedättää, totuttaa
- siedättääto cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
- totuttaato cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
- karaistato cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
- rasittaato take effect, or to benefit someone
French endurcir, aguerrir
- endurcirto cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
- aguerrirto cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
- habituerto cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
- prendre effetto take effect, or to benefit someone
German abhärten, an gewöhnen (etwas)
- abhärtento cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
- an gewöhnen (etwas)to cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
Greek εξοικειώνω, εγκλιματίζω
- εξοικειώνω (exoikeióno)to cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
- εγκλιματίζω (egklimatízo)to cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
Italian assuefare, abituare
- assuefareto cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
- abituareto cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
- acclimareto cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
- acclimatareto cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
Māori umanga
- umangato cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
Portuguese acostumar, habituar
- acostumarto cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
- habituarto cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
- endurecerto cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
Russian приучать
- приучать (priučatʹ)to cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
Spanish avezar, vezar
- avezarto cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
- vezarto cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with inure
Anagrams
Cite this entry
inure. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inure
“inure.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inure. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “inure,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inure.
Source: inure on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.