Inure (Best Overview, Definition, Examples and Legal Meaning)

What does the term inure mean?

What is the legal definition of the term inure or inured?

What are some examples and how is it used in contracts?

In this article, we will break down the term inure so you know all there is to know about it.

We will understand the inured meaning, how it is used in a sentence, the variations of the term, how it is used from a legal perspective in contracts and legal documents, compare inure vs enure, look at concrete examples and more.

Are you ready?

Let’s get started!

Inure definition 

The term “inure” or “inured” is seen in many sentences, contracts, insurance policies, wills and testaments, loan documents and more.

What does inure mean exactly?

How do you define inured?

To define inure, let’s turn to the good old English dictionary!

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, inure is defined as:

“To accustom to accept something undesirable “

“To become of advantage “

What is notable from this definition is that it is to accept something “undesirable” or to see an “advantage” in something.  

The term stems from the Latin “in ure” meaning “in use” or “at work”.

From a legal standpoint, the term inure can be used in contracts or legal documents to indicate that something has taken effect or something that will impact another thing.

For example: 

This means that the insurance policy will impact the named beneficiaries where they benefit from it.

Another example: 

This means that the legatees will “benefit from” or “take advantage of” the testator’s property upon his or her death.

Inure does not necessarily need to be an “advantage” or something beneficial affecting someone, it can also be an obligation or to the detriment of a party.

For example:

This means that if the contract is assigned, the assignee will inherit the obligations under the contract or such obligations will “take effect” on the assignees. 

Another example:

The term insure can be used in a sentence to indicate that something is accepted, is accustomed to or has become a habit.

For example:

The inured definition here is that we are habituated or it has become customary to expect a service provider to default on its obligations.

Another example:

The term inure has many variations employed in the English language or in legal documents.

Here are some variations that you may encounter:

1. Inure
2. Inured
3. Inuring
4. To inure
5. Inure to the benefit
6. Inure to the benefit of

What does “inure to the benefit” or “inure to the benefit of” mean?

In legal terms, when you see the phrase inure to the benefit or inure to the benefit of, it means that something will benefit someone or will take effect in a way to give someone an advantage.

You can equate inure to the benefit meaning to:

1. To result in a benefit
2. To give advantage 
3. To be attributable to 
4. To be given to 

For example:

This means that the release and discharge will result in a benefit or give advantage to both the contractor and subcontractor.

Another example:

We’ve referred to the term “inure” in this article but you may have come across the term “enure” as well.

Does enure mean the same thing as inure?

What is the difference between enure and inure?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, enure is a 

“less common spelling of INURE”

In essence, the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines inure and enure to mean the same thing.

According to the Collins Dictionary, enure is:

“a variant spelling of inure”

What Merriam-Webster and Collins dictionaries state is corroborated by doing a search on the EDGAR system where you have 1,521 public filings using the term inure and only 59 using enure. 

They are both used but inure is used more commonly than enure.

Here are some examples of the term “inure” found on EDGAR:

What is inure

Inure is a term that used to refer to something that you’ve become accustomed to or it can be used in legal documents to indicate that some obligations or benefits will pass onto someone, benefit someone or be binding on someone.

To inure means to the advantage of or to operate onto.

This means that the obligations in this contract will bind or take legal effect on the parties’ successors or assignees.

What does inure to the benefit mean

For example:

This means that the company’s earnings will ultimately have an impact or result in an advantage to the shareholders when they get a dividend payout.

How do you use inure in a sentence

The term inure can be used in a sentence in a variety of ways.

Let’s look at a few examples:

What does inure mean in a contract

In a contract, inure means that a contractual right or obligation will take effect on a party.

The typical contractual clause where we see the term inure is in the successors and assigns clause:

This means that if the contract is assigned to another party, the rights and obligations of the party will take effect or bind the successors of the party.