Inuring

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Becoming gradually less sensitive or harmed by something painful or distressing through continued exposure
2. Developing a reduced emotional or physical reaction to adverse conditions due to repeated experience
3. Adjusting to hardships or unpleasant influences so they have a diminished effect over time

Etymology: "Inuring" is the present participle of "inure," and the verb's core idea is practice. It comes from Middle English "inuren," built from the prefix "in-" and "ure," meaning "practise" or "exercise." That older sense of "ure" survives in the phrase "in ure," which described a thing being put to use or kept in working order, so the verb began as a matter of training the body or mind through repetition. The modern sense of getting used to something unpleasant grew out of that practising. To inure yourself to cold or noise is, in effect, to exercise yourself until the hardship stops biting. The word is one of several English verbs where a dull-sounding root turned into something concerned with endurance rather than action.

Synonyms: habituating, accustoming, conditioning, toughening, desensitizing

Antonyms: alienating, distancing, weakening, softening, unaccustoming