suffer
[ 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)
Nearby words
suez canal crisis, suf-, suf., sufentanil citrate, suff., suffer, suffer fools gladly, sufferable, sufferance, sufferer, suffering
Origin of suffer
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for suffered
British Dictionary definitions for suffered
suffer
/ (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 disadvantagethis author suffers in translation
to be prepared to endure (pain, death, etc)he suffers for the cause of freedom
(tr) archaic to permit (someone to do something)suffer the little children to come unto me
suffer from
- to be ill with, esp recurrently
- to be given tohe suffers from a tendency to exaggerate
Derived Formssufferer, noun
Word Origin for suffer
C13: from Old French soffrir, from Latin sufferre, from sub- + ferre to bear
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
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for suffered
suffer
early 13c., "to be made to undergo, endure" (pain, death, punishment, judgment, grief), from Anglo-French suffrir, Old French sufrir, from Vulgar Latin *sufferire, variant of Latin sufferre "to bear, undergo, endure, carry or put under," from sub "up, under" (see sub-) + ferre "to carry" (see infer).
Replaced Old English þolian, þrowian. Meaning "to meekly submit to hardship" is from late 13c. That of "to undergo" (distress, suffering, etc.) is mid-14c. Meaning "to tolerate, allow" something to occur or continue is recorded from mid-13c. Related: Suffered; suffering.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with suffered
suffer
see not suffer fools gladly.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
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