noun
-
the pain, misery, or loss experienced by a person who suffers
-
the state or an instance of enduring pain, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of suffering
First recorded in 1350–1400; suffer + -ing 1 ( def. )
Explanation
Suffering is the kind of pain you feel when you shatter your ankle and it's what you'll see all around you if you find yourself in the middle of a tornado or an earthquake. When you're suffering, you're not happy — in fact, you're quite miserable. The Latin roots that give us suffering and related words paint a vivid picture of what suffering feels like. The word comes from sub-, meaning "below," and ferre, "bear." Suffering is something pressing you down that you have to submit to and bear. It's definitely the opposite of fun.
Vocabulary lists containing suffering
Because of Winn-Dixie
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"The Young American" by Ralph Waldo Emerson
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The House of Hades
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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.
Calderdale Council said it was "deeply sorry for the harm and suffering caused by these individuals, and for the devastating impact this abuse has had on the lives of their victims."
From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026
“The El Niño is going to be very bad this year, and there are spots in the United States already suffering from a drought,” he told me in a recent interview.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026
Jurors awarded Nancy Iskander another $35 million for serious emotional distress and $34 million to Zachary, their surviving son, for emotional suffering.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2026
He was also suffering, he said, from herniated discs and torn rotator cuffs.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026
Phineas tells his mother that he is only suffering from the voyage.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
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.
