suffer
Americanverb (used without object)
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suffers,
present (3rd person singular)
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suffered,
past participle, past
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suffering
present participle
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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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suffers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
suffered,
past participle, past
-
suffering
present participle
-
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
Derived Forms
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nonsufferablenessnoun
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sufferablenessnoun
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sufferernoun
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unsufferablenessnoun
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presufferverb
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outsufferverb (used with object)
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nonsufferableadjective
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sufferableadjective
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unsufferableadjective
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nonsufferablyadverb
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sufferablyadverb
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unsufferablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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suffersimple
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sufferssimple
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have sufferedperfect
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has sufferedperfect
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am sufferingprogressive
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are sufferingprogressive
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is sufferingprogressive
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have been sufferingperfect progressive
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has been sufferingperfect progressive
Past
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sufferedsimple
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had sufferedperfect
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was sufferingprogressive
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were sufferingprogressive
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had been sufferingperfect progressive
Future
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.
See Examples For:
But when consumers pay a higher price based on the undisclosed use of personal data, they suffer a “substantial injury,” the commission said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
The Lincoln’s fate has been the most heavily publicized, but it isn’t the only aircraft carrier to suffer these traumas.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026
That being said, rising yields don’t guarantee that stocks will suffer.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
"We want to believe that she didn't suffer."
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
For trying to read a note someone else had given him, he was made to suffer complete humiliation.
From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville
He suffers horrible burns, but she dashes away unscathed.
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026
In any event, the Maverick’s Normal mode drivability suffers from the overly elastic throttle at low speed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
It has not invested in modern technology at the same rate as other countries, and suffers from a lack of theatre space, intensive care beds and staff.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
More: CoreWeave’s stock suffers another long losing streak.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
He suffers quiet crushes, which he admits to no one, on this girl or that girl with whom he is already friends.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
He said the victims had suffered "significant financial and emotional harm" as a result, with some left heavily in debt and with damaged relationships.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
She had suffered a "substantial" miscarriage of justice, they said, alleging a litany of irregularities and the misuse of evidence during the trial.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
As the state has relied heavily on its water, the Delta’s ecosystem has suffered, and native fish populations have declined.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
The attacks were inconsequential in one sense—there were no reports of contaminated water, though some systems suffered pressure drops and issued precautionary boil-water advisories.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026
Were they so greedy, or so desperate, that they didn’t care who suffered?
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
It said Pezzani was "suffering from serious health problems that require immediate medical attention".
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Others told of children suffering serious ailments who were shooed off with Tylenol.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
Center Tyler Biadasz is out indefinitely after suffering a left knee injury in Tuesday’s joint practice with San Francisco.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
"As a result, many apples are dropping from the trees prematurely, remaining very small, or suffering from sunburn damage," the agency said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
No matter what suffering they witnessed and how much they suffered themselves, though, the one thing Marina’s aviators could rely on to bring them strength and comfort was their dependence on each other.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
