A.Word.A.Day -- indurate

A.Word.A.Day

About | Media | Search | Contact

Home

Today's Word

Yesterday's Word

A.Word.A.Day--indurate

indurate (IN-doo/dyoo-rayt, adjective: IN-doo/dyoo-rit)

This week's theme: Verbs

verb tr.:	1. To make hardy, inured, accustomed.
	2. To make callous or unfeeling.
verb intr.:	1. To make hard.
	2. To become established.
adjective:	Hardened; callous; obstinate.

[From Latin indurare (to harden), from durare (to last), from durus (hard). Ultimately from the Indo-European root deru-/dreu- (to be firm) that's the source of such other words as truth, trust, betroth, tree, endure, and druid.]

"Do you need to show exploding heads to illustrate the tragedy of war? Only, surely, if your audience is so indurated to on-screen suffering, that nothing else will pierce its hide."
Catherine Bennett; Shootists; The Guardian (London, UK); Sep 12, 1998.

"His person, though muscular, was rather attenuated than full; but every nerve and muscle appeared strung and indurated by unremitted exposure and toil."
James Fenimore Cooper; The Last of the Mohicans; 1826.

See more usage examples of indurate in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

X-Bonus

The world is a story we tell ourselves about the world. -Vikram Chandra, novelist (b. 1961)

We need your help

Help us continue to spread the magic of words to readers everywhere

Donate

Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise