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
Derived Forms
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sufferablyadverb
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unsufferablyadverb
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presufferverb
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nonsufferablenessnoun
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sufferableadjective
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sufferernoun
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sufferablenessnoun
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unsufferablenessnoun
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nonsufferablyadverb
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nonsufferableadjective
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outsufferverb (used with object)
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unsufferableadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has sufferedperfect 3rd person singular
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have sufferedperfect
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am sufferingprogressive 1st person singular
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are sufferingprogressive
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has been sufferingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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sufferingparticiple
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is sufferingprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been sufferingperfect progressive
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sufferssingular 3rd person
Past
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had sufferedperfect
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sufferedsimple
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had been sufferingperfect progressive
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sufferedparticiple
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was sufferingprogressive singular
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were sufferingprogressive plural
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.
They’re in for a bad surprise — and their portfolios will likely suffer as a result.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026
VW, in the process of slashing thousands of jobs as profits and sales suffer, is seeking to reduce global production capacities by around one million vehicles -- half in China and half elsewhere, particularly Europe.
From Barron's • Jun. 7, 2026
Aiello expects more of its kind will suffer similar fates if nothing is done.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026
One may experience increased soil activity, while another may suffer a major decline.
From Science Daily • Jun. 2, 2026
“But we might have to leave Naples before too long. Many suffer from hunger, Jewish and Christian. The other day, a Jewish peddler sold his son into slavery to feed the rest of his family.”
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
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.
