inure
/i'njuə/ Cách viết khác : (enure) /i'njuə/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb (transitive):
- To cause someone to become accustomed to something unpleasant, difficult, or painful, especially through prolonged exposure; to habituate or harden.
- (Law) To take effect or become operative; to serve as a benefit or advantage.
Usage
- Primary Meaning (To Accustom/Harden): Used with the preposition "to" ("inure someone to something"). It describes the process of making a person less sensitive to negative conditions through repeated experience.
- Legal/Formal Meaning (To Take Effect/Be Advantageous): Used in legal or formal contexts to indicate that something (like a law, right, or action) comes into force or results in a benefit.
Examples
- Transitive Verb (Accustoming):
- Years of working outdoors inured him to extreme weather conditions.
- Soldiers must become inured to the hardships of combat.
- The constant criticism did not inure her to it; it still hurt.
- Verb (Legal/Formal - To Take Effect/Be Advantageous):
- The new regulations will inure to the benefit of all employees.
- Any property acquired shall inure to the heirs of the estate.
Advanced Usage
- Passive Voice: Very commonly used in the passive form ("be/become inured to").
- The medical staff had become inured to long shifts and high stress.
- Reflexive Use (Less Common): Can sometimes be used reflexively.
- He inured himself to the cold by taking daily ice baths.
Variants and Related Words
- Enure: An alternative, chiefly British, spelling of "inure," especially in the legal sense of taking effect.
- Inurement (Noun): The process or state of being inured.
- The inurement of the population to high levels of pollution is a serious concern.
- Inured (Adjective): Describes the state of being accustomed to something bad.
- She had an inured attitude towards bureaucratic delays.
Synonyms
- Accustom: To make familiar with something through use or experience.
- Harden: To make less sensitive or more resilient.
- Habituate: To make used to something by frequent repetition.
- Desensitize: To make less sensitive or reactive.
Antonyms
- Sensitize: To make more sensitive or aware.
- Shield: To protect from something unpleasant.
- Pamper: To treat with excessive care and attention.
Related Phrases/Idioms
- To become inured to: This is the standard phrase for describing the state of being hardened to something.
- After years in the city, he had become inured to the constant noise.
- Inure to the benefit of: A formal phrase meaning to result in an advantage for.
- The trust fund was established to inure to the benefit of future generations.
Verb
- cause to accept or become hardened to; habituate
- He was inured to the cold