suffer
Americanverb (used without object)
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to undergo or feel pain or distress.
The patient is still suffering.
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to sustain injury, disadvantage, or loss.
One's health suffers from overwork. The business suffers from lack of capital.
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to undergo a penalty, as of death.
The traitor was made to suffer on the gallows.
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to endure pain, disability, death, etc., patiently or willingly.
verb (used with object)
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to undergo, be subjected to, or endure (pain, distress, injury, loss, or anything unpleasant).
to suffer the pangs of conscience.
- Synonyms:
- sustain
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to undergo or experience (any action, process, or condition).
to suffer change.
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to tolerate or allow.
I do not suffer fools gladly.
verb
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to undergo or be subjected to (pain, punishment, etc)
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(tr) to undergo or experience (anything)
to suffer a change of management
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(intr) to be set at a disadvantage
this author suffers in translation
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to be prepared to endure (pain, death, etc)
he suffers for the cause of freedom
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archaic (tr) to permit (someone to do something)
suffer the little children to come unto me
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to be ill with, esp recurrently
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to be given to
he suffers from a tendency to exaggerate
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Usage
It is better to avoid using the words suffer and sufferer in relation to chronic illness or disability. They may be considered demeaning and disempowering. Suitable alternative are have , experience , be diagnosed with
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of suffer
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English suff(e)ren, from Latin sufferre, from suf- suf- ( def. ) + ferre “to bring, carry”; compare Old French sofrir, from Vulgar Latin sufferīre (unrecorded); see also bear 1 ( def. ), -phore ( def. )
Explanation
The verb suffer means to feel pain or something equally unpleasant. You'd probably do anything you could to be sure your beloved cat didn't suffer when she got old and sick. You can suffer from the pain of a broken leg, but you can also suffer from shyness, regret, poverty, or any number of unpleasant things. You can even describe something that becomes worse using the word suffer, like when someone's grades suffer during soccer season. The root of suffer is the Latin word sufferre, to bear, undergo, or endure. That's why someone who doesn't suffer fools gladly won't put up with nonsense.
Vocabulary lists containing suffer
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 5
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
However, the album is also surprisingly pop-leaning; despite their names, the foundation of tracks like "Suffer the Children" and "Watch Me Bleed" have more in common with bubbly synth-pop singles than more macabre fare.
From Salon • Mar. 5, 2023
Their debut 1979 album Higher: Suffer Hell on Earth addresses the economic struggles of the ghetto and how a lack of job opportunities can lead to starvation.
From BBC • Feb. 25, 2023
The letter – which was titled "Why Do Girls Suffer from Body Image?" – discusses the significant impact that body image has on girls in particular, especially for their mental and physical health.
From Fox News • Jan. 20, 2022
The flatter and more uniform black of the female nude in Mr. Marshall’s “You Must Suffer if You Want to be Beautiful,” by contrast, pushes the color’s political subtext right to the front.
From New York Times • Oct. 24, 2018
Suffer me, nevertheless, to intimate to you, that you will do well to return, quietly and expeditiously, to the spot whence you came.
From The Wanderer (Volume 4 of 5) or, Female Difficulties by Burney, Fanny
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
