suffer

American  

[suhf-er] / ˈsʌf ər /

verb (used without object)

1. to undergo or feel pain or distress.

   The patient is still suffering.

2. to sustain injury, disadvantage, or loss.

   One's health suffers from overwork. The business suffers from lack of capital.

3. to undergo a penalty, as of death.

   The traitor was made to suffer on the gallows.

4. to endure pain, disability, death, etc., patiently or willingly.

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verb (used with object)

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

   to suffer the pangs of conscience.

   Synonyms:

   sustain

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

   to suffer change.

3. to tolerate or allow.

   I do not suffer fools gladly.

   Synonyms:

   abide, stand, stomach

suffer British  

/ ˈsʌfə /

verb

1. to undergo or be subjected to (pain, punishment, etc)

2. (tr) to undergo or experience (anything)

   to suffer a change of management

3. (intr) to be set at a disadvantage

   this author suffers in translation

4. to be prepared to endure (pain, death, etc)

   he suffers for the cause of freedom

5. archaic (tr) to permit (someone to do something)

   suffer the little children to come unto me

6. 1. to be ill with, esp recurrently

   2. to be given to

      he suffers from a tendency to exaggerate

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suffer Idioms  

1. see not suffer fools gladly.

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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

• nonsufferable adjective
• nonsufferableness noun
• nonsufferably adverb
• outsuffer verb (used with object)
• presuffer verb
• sufferable adjective
• sufferableness noun
• sufferably adverb
• sufferer noun
• unsufferable adjective
• unsufferableness noun
• unsufferably adverb

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); 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.

Example Sentences

As a result, China has gone on to suffer from a severe gender imbalance, with men now outnumbering women by over 30 million.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

This has seen stocks with high revenue growth suffer contracting valuations in recent months.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 13, 2026

So going back nearly 60 years, the late Mr. Flint has been left to quietly suffer the indignities of desecration and abandonment, but for temporary intervention.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026

Europe will suffer jet fuel shortages in just three weeks if the the Strait of Hormuz does not reopen, the trade body for the continent's airports has warned.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

All numbers in the complex plane suffer this fate.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Related Words

• accept
• bleed
• encounter
• experience
• feel
• go through
• have
• hurt
• know
• receive
• see
• support
• sustain
• take
• undergo