Dictionary.com

suffer

[ suhf-er ]
/ ˈsʌf ər /
Save This Word!
See synonyms for: suffer / suffered / suffering / suffers on Thesaurus.com

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)

QUIZZES

THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?

Did you ever collect all those state quarters? Put them to good use on this quiz about curious state monikers and the facts around them.
Question 1 of 8
Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?
The Sunflower State
The Evergreen State
The Magnolia State
The Mockingbird State
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of suffer

1200–50; Middle English suff(e)ren<Latin sufferre, equivalent to suf-suf- + ferre to bear1; compare Old French sofrir<Vulgar Latin *sufferīre

OTHER WORDS FROM suffer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Words related to suffer

go through, get, experience, hurt, endure, undergo, deteriorate, receive, support, feel, see, accept, sustain, take, have, bleed, encounter, know, brave, pain

Example sentences from the Web for suffer

British Dictionary definitions for suffer

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
  1. to be ill with, esp recurrently
  2. to be given tohe suffers from a tendency to exaggerate

Derived forms of suffer

sufferer, noun

Word Origin for suffer

C13: from Old French soffrir, from Latin sufferre, from sub- + ferre to bear

usage for suffer

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with suffer

suffer

see not suffer fools gladly.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
See Today's Synonym