sufferance
Americannoun
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tolerance arising from failure to prohibit; tacit permission
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capacity to endure pain, injury, etc
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the state or condition of suffering
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archaic patient endurance
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with reluctance
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sufferance
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English sufferaunce, sufferanse, from Old French so(u)france, from Late Latin sufferentia, equivalent to suffer(re) to suffer + -entia -ence, -ance
Explanation
Sufferance is a type of patience, especially the patience to endure pain and suffering. When you suffer, you're in some type of pain, whether physical or emotional. Sufferance is a quality possessed by people who endure such pains patiently and without complaining. Someone who endures a long and serious illness without complaining once has great sufferance. On the other hand, if you complain and whine about minor problems, that shows very little sufferance. This is a word for dealing with difficult situations well and even heroically.
Vocabulary lists containing sufferance
The Declaration of Independence
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Julius Caesar
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Much Ado About Nothing
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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.
—Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.
From Textbooks • Jul. 28, 2021
It is a story about who gets to go where, who gets to exist safely in public, and who is only there on sufferance.
From Washington Post • Jan. 7, 2021
So anything we take is really on their sufferance.
From Salon • Mar. 17, 2020
Both hobby and commercial pilots have access to their technology only at the sufferance of the government and the public: It’s a privilege that can and will be taken away if the bad behavior continues.
From Slate • Jan. 3, 2018
What was worse, Lola had made it clear that she too would be acting on sufferance.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
