Endowed With: Standard Pattern
Endowed With: Standard Pattern records the directly documented construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced complement pattern rather than inventing a broader prohibition.
Use “endowed with” when saying that a person or thing naturally or formally possesses a quality, ability, or resource.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| a person or thing possesses a quality or feature | be endowed with + quality / feature | Use the documented pattern. |
| a resource or capacity is presented as something possessed | be endowed with + resource / ability | Use “with” when the sentence has the possession sense. |
| endow is used in another grammatical sense | follow the construction required by that sense | Do not convert this page into a rule for every use of the verb “endow.” |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Does “endowed” mean naturally or formally possessing a quality, feature, ability, or resource?
If yes: Use “endowed with …”.
If no: If “endow” has a different argument structure in the sentence, use the construction supported by that different sense.
Caveat: The reviewed Cambridge evidence supports the possession sense “be endowed with.” It does not establish a universal complement rule for every form or sense of “endow.”
Examples
She is endowed with remarkable patience.
“With” introduces the quality possessed.
The region is endowed with abundant sunlight.
The complement names a resource associated with the subject.
The device is endowed with enough memory for the task.
The pattern presents a capacity as something the subject has.
Further guidance
Construction
Cambridge documents “be endowed with” for possessing a particular quality, ability, or feature.
Style Boundary
The construction is often formal; the page does not imply that endowed must always take an expressed with-complement.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- ENDOW | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press & Assessment · Cambridge dictionary evidence for be endowed with meaning to possess a particular quality or feature.