The answer is ABIDE, five letters. Four squares almost always want LAST or BEAR. Endure carries two separate meanings that lead to two separate word lists, and knowing which one the clue wants is worth more than knowing more synonyms.
The two meanings pulling in opposite directions
Endure can mean to go on existing, as a cathedral endures or a reputation endures. It can also mean to put up with something unpleasant, as in enduring a long flight. The first sense is intransitive and needs no object. The second sense is transitive and always has one.
That distinction sorts the candidate list cleanly. LAST, PERSIST, SURVIVE, REMAIN and WEAR belong to the first group. BEAR, ABIDE, BROOK, STAND, STOMACH, SUFFER and TOLERATE belong to the second. If the clue is dressed up into a phrase, look at whether anything is being endured. If there is a victim in the wording, you want the second list.
Abide only half survives in modern English
ABIDE is a strong crossword word for a reason that has nothing to do with how often people say it. In everyday speech the endure sense of abide now appears mostly in the negative, in the construction cannot abide, which is why it sounds slightly formal in a positive sentence. The other surviving use is abide by, meaning to comply with a rule, and that one has drifted far enough that it no longer means endure at all.
BROOK behaves the same way and it is worth spotting because it is a five letter trap waiting for solvers who only think of streams. As a verb, brook means to tolerate, and it almost only ever appears negatively, as in brooks no argument. A clue that mentions refusal or intolerance is often pointing at BROOK rather than at anything gentler.
BEAR carries its own ambiguity, and that is why a four letter endure clue can feel unstable even after you have written something in. One spelling covers the animal, the verb meaning to carry, the verb meaning to produce as a tree bears fruit, and the verb meaning to tolerate. Only the clue separates them, and a bare Endure hands you the last of the four.
Pick the fill your blanks allow
Count first, then choose the sense:
| Letters | Answer | Which sense |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | LAST | Continue to exist |
| 4 | BEAR | Put up with |
| 4 | WEAR | Hold up over time, as in wear well |
| 5 | ABIDE | Put up with, slightly formal |
| 5 | BROOK | Tolerate, usually in the negative |
| 5 | STAND | Put up with, plain register |
| 6 | SUFFER | Put up with, older register |
| 7 | PERSIST | Keep going |
| 7 | STOMACH | Put up with something distasteful |
| 7 | WEATHER | Come through a bad stretch |
| 8 | SURVIVE | Outlast the threat |
| 8 | TOLERATE | Formal, the full synonym |
SURVIVE is seven letters and TOLERATE is eight, so check the count rather than trusting the table position when two entries look similar in length.
Register is the tiebreaker at five squares
When ABIDE, BROOK and STAND all fit the same five squares, the wording of the clue usually leans one way. A plain conversational clue tends to want STAND, because that is the word an English speaker actually reaches for. A formal or literary surface leans to ABIDE. A clue about refusing to accept something leans to BROOK. None of this is a rule you can rely on alone, but it is a good way to decide which one to pencil in first when the crossings are still empty.
Watch the ending before you write
Endure has a regular past tense, so clue and answer agree. If the clue reads Endured, the fill ends in D or is an irregular past form: LASTED, BORE, STOOD, ABODE. If it reads Endures, the fill takes an S. If it reads Enduring, you are looking for an ING form or for an adjective sense, because enduring as an adjective means lasting or permanent, and that opens a different list entirely with ETERNAL, ABIDING and PERENNIAL on it. Read the last three letters of the clue word before you count the squares, because that single check kills most wrong entries.
Frequently asked questions
What is the four letter answer for Endure?
LAST if the clue means to continue existing, and BEAR if it means to put up with something. WEAR also fits four squares in the sense of wearing well over time.
How do I know whether Endure wants ABIDE or STAND?
Both fit five squares and both mean to tolerate. A formal or literary clue surface leans toward ABIDE, while a plain conversational one leans toward STAND, so let a crossing letter settle it.
Does Enduring have different crossword answers from Endure?
Often yes. As an adjective, enduring means lasting rather than tolerating, which brings in ABIDING, ETERNAL and PERENNIAL instead of the verb list.
