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
- 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. )
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.
He said that while simpler insurance products, such as “term life, personal auto and home” could see major disruptions from AI in the next five years, larger commercial businesses are unlikely to suffer.
From MarketWatch
WSJ: You work with people with dementia who suffer from aphasia, or difficulty finding words.
For years, residents and students had repeatedly complained about acrid odors from the site, with many suffering chronic headaches and nosebleeds.
From Los Angeles Times
"Sea temperatures are rising, and they get washed up here in storms, usually suffering from cold shock or being 'cold-stunned', so they can't move, and some people think they are dead," they continued.
From BBC
She attributed this to neurological problems, but she was also suffering from persistent gynaecological issues.
From BBC
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.
