incur

incur
incur, contract, catch are comparable when they mean to bring upon oneself something unpleasant, onerous, or injurious.
Incur may or may not imply foreknowledge of what is to happen
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incur a debt

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incur criticism

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but it usually implies responsibility for the acts which bring about what is incurred
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he simply couldn't bring himself to incur the loss of face involved in admitting that he didn't know enough English— Durdin

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an environment containing all the classic elements for incurring mental fatigue— Armstrong

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Contract carries a stronger implication than incur of acquirement, but it is equally inexplicit in its lack of clear suggestion as to whether the acquisition derives from intention or accident
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had contracted con-siderable debts in granting loans to the king— Cruickshanks

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contract a disease

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contract bad habits

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But contract often distinctively implies a meeting between two things that permits either an interchange of qualities
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each from each contract new strength and light— Pope

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or a transmission of something from one to the other
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they say that sherry ought to live for a while in an old brandy cask, so as to contract a certain convincing quality from the cask's genial timbers— Montague

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Catch, the least literary and most ordinary of these terms, usually implies infection or something analogous to it
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catch a heavy cold

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religion, in point of fact, is seldom taught at all; it is caught, by contact with someone who has it— Inge

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Analogous words: *get, obtain, acquire
Contrasted words: *escape, elude, evade, avoid, shun, eschew: avert, ward, *prevent

New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • incur — in·cur /in kər/ vt in·curred, in·cur·ring: to become liable or subject to: bring down upon oneself incur obligations incur expenses Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • incur — in‧cur [ɪnˈkɜː ǁ ˈkɜːr] verb incurred PTandPPX incurring PRESPARTX [transitive] FINANCE if you incur a cost, a debt, or a fine, you do something that means that you lose money or have to pay money: • The foundry has been operating at less than… …   Financial and business terms

  • Incur — In*cur , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Incurred}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Incurring}.] [L. incurrere to run into or toward; pref. in in + currere to run. See {Current}.] [1913 Webster] 1. To meet or fall in with, as something inconvenient, harmful, or onerous;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • incur — [in kʉr′] vt. incurred, incurring [ME incurren < L incurrere, to run into or toward, attack < in , in, toward + currere, to run: see CURRENT] 1. to come into or acquire (something undesirable) [to incur a debt] 2. to become subject to… …   English World dictionary

  • Incur — In*cur , v. i. To pass; to enter. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Light is discerned by itself because by itself it incurs into the eye. South. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • incur — (v.) early 15c., from Anglo Fr. encurir, M.Fr. encourir, from L. incurrere run into or against, rush at, make an attack; figuratively, to befall, happen, occur to, from in upon (see IN (Cf. in ) (2)) + currere to run (see CURRENT (Cf. current)).… …   Etymology dictionary

  • incur — meaning ‘to suffer or experience’, has inflected forms incurred, incurring …   Modern English usage

  • incur — [v] bring upon oneself acquire, arouse, be subjected to, bring down on*, catch, contract, draw, earn, expose oneself to, gain, get, induce, meet with, obtain, provoke; concept 93 …   New thesaurus

  • incur — ► VERB (incurred, incurring) ▪ become subject to (something unpleasant) as a result of one s actions. ORIGIN Latin incurrere run into or towards …   English terms dictionary

  • incur */ — UK [ɪnˈkɜː(r)] / US [ɪnˈkɜr] verb [transitive] Word forms incur : present tense I/you/we/they incur he/she/it incurs present participle incurring past tense incurred past participle incurred 1) to lose money, owe money, or have to pay money as a… …   English dictionary

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