Inure   (pronounced ih-nyoor or ih-noor) verb


Definition

to accustom or habituate to something undesirable or painful (such as by extended use or exposure).

(Note: in the first pronunciation, the second syllable, -nyoor, rhymes with the word cure; in the second pronunciation, the second syllable, -noor, rhymes with the word moor)

Main Example

  • The April 15 shooting at a high school in Louisiana, when one student killed another with an AK-47 assault rifle, didn't even get a mention in most TV and radio news broadcasts. Why such a contrast from just five years ago when the mere discovery of a gun on a school campus made for "breaking news?" Because the spate of campus shootings in recent years has, sadly, begun to inure us to this once unthinkable crime.

    Workplace Examples

  • Since this job involves having to deal with bad news quite frequently, we need somebody more mature . . . somebody who is inured to business ups and downs and who, therefore, won't become crestfallen at the first setback.

  • Having lived in northern Maine most of my life, I find this heat unbearable. I envy all of you who are inured to the long, hot summers here.

    Other Examples

  • your telling a new employee: "I see that you are a little rattled by the pressure to meet all these end-of-month deadlines. Just hang in there. Soon you'll become inured to these pressure-cooker days, and even start relishing them."

  • somebody finally becoming inured to the criticisms and unfriendly remarks which used to unsettle him or her

  • firefighters and cops, although long inured to the daily diet of mayhem, being moved to tears by a ghastly traffic accident in which several children were burned to death

  • during the last midterm election, the unusual intensity of negative TV ads for some of the closely fought seats causing viewers to simply tune out after having become inured to the ad blitz

    © 2003 V.J. Singal

    This Month's Other Words

    Illusory
    Patrimony
    Acerbic
    Vexed
    Evince
    Quiescent
    Disingenuous

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