WordGarden.ioinure
C2Pronunciation
UK
- /ɪnjˈɔː/
US
- /ˌɪnˈjʊr/
Meanings
Verb
to make someone used to something unpleasant so it bothers them less
to take effect or apply for someone's benefit, especially in legal language
Beyond the definition
Imagine a sailor constantly exposed to harsh seas. Over time, they become inured to the storms, meaning they get used to them and are no longer strongly affected. The idea is repeated contact with something hard or unpleasant. A person might become inured to cold weather by spending a lot of time outside in winter, or a doctor may become inured to difficult medical cases. It does not mean they enjoy it. It means it no longer overwhelms them in the same way.
Think of it as a kind of toughening through experience. A seasoned detective might be inured to disturbing crime scenes, while a new recruit would find them shocking. The key is that repeated exposure makes the emotional or physical effect weaker.
To inure someone to something means to accustom them to something unpleasant, difficult, or painful, so that it affects them less over time. It is stronger than simply saying "get used to." It suggests that repeated experience has made a person harder, steadier, or less sensitive. For example: "Years of working in the desert had inured him to the extreme heat," meaning he was less troubled by temperatures that would be hard for most people.
The word usually points to repeated exposure, often involving hardship or discomfort. It is not about enjoying the experience. It is about developing tolerance for it. A soldier might be inured to danger after years of combat, or a nurse might become inured to scenes of pain and distress after many years of hospital work.
Historically, inure also had a legal use in phrases like "inure to the benefit of," where it refers to something taking effect in favor of a person or group. In everyday modern English, though, it is mainly used for becoming used to difficult conditions. It often describes emotional endurance, but it can also refer to physical endurance.
So, if someone has become inured to a situation, they have faced it again and again until it no longer has the same force over them. They have not necessarily overcome it or stopped noticing it completely, but they can bear it more easily than before.
Examples
- 1
Hard conditions
The long winter inured the villagers to cold mornings and icy roads.
- 2
Emergency work
After years in emergency care, she had become inured to the sound of alarms.
- 3
Legal benefit
The contract says that any refund will inure to the benefit of the buyer.
- Domaininure to the benefit of + person
legally belong to or help that person
See also
Similar
Shades of meaning
Contrast
Used with (collocations)
- inure someone to hardship
- inured to criticism
- inured to suffering
Word family
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Forms and spellings
4 forms open this card.
Main spelling
- inureverb
Forms
- inuredpast tenseverb
- inuresverb
- inuring-ing formverb