Synonyms

suffer

American

[suhf-er] / ˈsʌf ər /

verb (used without object)

to undergo or feel pain or distress.

The patient is still suffering.
to sustain injury, disadvantage, or loss.

One's health suffers from overwork. The business suffers from lack of capital.
to undergo a penalty, as of death.

The traitor was made to suffer on the gallows.
to endure pain, disability, death, etc., patiently or willingly.

verb (used with object)

to undergo, be subjected to, or endure (pain, distress, injury, loss, or anything unpleasant).

to suffer the pangs of conscience.

Synonyms:

sustain
to undergo or experience (any action, process, or condition).

to suffer change.
to tolerate or allow.

I do not suffer fools gladly.

Synonyms:

abide, stand, stomach

suffer British

/ ˈsʌfə /

verb

to undergo or be subjected to (pain, punishment, etc)
(tr) to undergo or experience (anything)

to suffer a change of management
(intr) to be set at a disadvantage

this author suffers in translation
to be prepared to endure (pain, death, etc)

he suffers for the cause of freedom
archaic (tr) to permit (someone to do something)

suffer the little children to come unto me
1. to be ill with, esp recurrently
2. to be given to
  
  he suffers from a tendency to exaggerate

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

suffer Idioms

see not suffer fools gladly.

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

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

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.

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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:

suffer suffers suffered suffering

Kelly Woods, a lawyer from Chicago, said she was attending the trial as a "big advocate" for people who suffer from postpartum psychosis.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

"No child should ever have to suffer, and I'm willing to do my part to try and keep as many of them as I can as healthy and safe as possible."

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

Gao’s brother said he feared Gao Zhen could suffer the same fate as Cao Shunli, a Chinese human rights activist who died in custody in 2014.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

The U.S. economy would suffer far less damage because of its huge size, economists say, but a slight uptick in inflation is still possible.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

“I didn’t come all this way, suffer so many humiliations...”

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

He suffers from the two facts that he achieved unique fame for the surgery named for him and he didn’t strike out hitters, he finessed them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

But this government-run primary school for girls in Faridabad, a district on the outskirts of the Indian capital Delhi, suffers from a host of problems.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

He suffers horrible burns, but she dashes away unscathed.

From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026

The president's latest order also arrives just as children across the country are readying to return to school, and as the US suffers its worst measles outbreak in 35 years.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

She will be the one who suffers the biggest consequence.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

It is understood that Geoff suffered a heart attack after the plane suddenly dropped at high altitude.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

"Thousands of homes have been destroyed or suffered significant damage. We believe that at least 93,000 people have been affected and in great need."

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

Stewart said in July that her husband “lost all ability to move any part of his body” and suffered seizures and swelling in his brain.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

WASHINGTON—President Trump suffered one of his most personal legal defeats earlier this year when a judge ordered his name to be taken off the front of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

And many men also suffered from trench mouth, a severe bacterial infection of the gums, another hazard of life in the trenches, caused by poor diet, poor hygiene, and smoking.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

She later received a lung transplant, after suffering from pulmonary fibrosis since 2018.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

Parton often swooped in when she felt people in Tennessee were suffering.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

Sehida Abdurahmanovic, a member of the main association of mothers in Srebrenica, said knowing he died suffering was some solace to victims' families, but his conviction was more enduring.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

Stewart played through a stress fracture in his foot throughout his freshman season after suffering the injury in August.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

“I knew how much you hated to steal, and I knew that you were suffering, but I never asked you if you were all right. I felt like I’d killed you myself.”

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023