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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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:
As a result, image quality can suffer and scanning sessions may take longer.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026
On Okinawa, Koki Ohama said his water sports and barbeque business in the major city of Naha would suffer from the storm.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
Markets, which suffer from short-term thinking, believe that firsthand experience is the best teacher.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
To complicate matters, Klee, in 1935, began to suffer from the then‑fatal autoimmune disease scleroderma, which hardens and tightens the skin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
She whispered a hushed prayer to the Universe, “Don’t let him suffer long.”
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
She dotes on her husband, who suffers from dementia and comes to terms with all the paraphernalia and recordings from her career that she hoarded for decades.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
England midfielder Jordan Henderson suffers a wrist injury while celebrating his side's dramatic World Cup last-16 win over Mexico.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
The book suffers from the flaws common to its genre.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
Venezuela suffers from frequent power cuts and its power system - which was nationalised in 2007 under Maduro's mentor, Hugo Chávez - is in dire need of repair and investment.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
“Look, Candy. This ol’ dog jus’ suffers hisself all the time.
From "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck
However, tragedy struck the Pegula family in June 2022, when Jessica’s mother Kim, 57, suffered a cardiac arrest that ultimately caused significant brain damage and memory issues.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
In March 1960, Fontaine suffered a broken leg during a French league game.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
The results point to one major difference: species whose metabolisms were less able to cope with warmer, oxygen poor water suffered the highest extinction rates.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026
For the third straight game, the defending champions suffered through a nail-biter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Among themselves they tended to live and relive their special woes; in Bloemendaal they were reminded that they were not the only ones who had suffered.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
The Paris region is suffering through its third heatwave this year during a summer in which temperature records have broken in several countries across Europe.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Kim made her first public appearance since suffering from the cardiac arrest in July 2024, when she attended the Bills’ training camp practice alongside her husband.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
Sen. Lindsey Graham, the prominent Republican from South Carolina who served in the Senate for more than two decades, died after suffering an aortic dissection, his office said Sunday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026
But he said his fear was nothing compared with the suffering of those who died.
From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026
And since we were not-friends, I couldn’t ask for the secret to her hair sorcery and put an end to my suffering.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
