suffering

American  

[suhf-er-ing, suhf-ring] / ˈsʌf ər ɪŋ, ˈsʌf rɪŋ /

noun

1. the state of a person or thing that suffers.

   Synonyms:

   distress, pain, torture, torment, agony

2. Often sufferings. something suffered by a person or a group of people; pain.

   the sorrows and sufferings of our poorest citizens.

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suffering British  

/ ˈsʌfrɪŋ, ˈsʌfərɪŋ /

noun

1. the pain, misery, or loss experienced by a person who suffers

2. the state or an instance of enduring pain, etc

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Other Word Forms

• sufferingly adverb
• unsuffering adjective

Etymology

Origin of suffering

First recorded in 1350–1400; suffer + -ing ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

Joseph McKenna, defending, told the court in mitigation that the defendant was suffering from anxiety and depression, having experienced "difficult circumstances" as a Kurd in Turkey.

From BBC

Northern Ireland's Mark Allen won five frames in a row as he came from behind to defeat Wales' Mark Williams 6-2 in the first round of the Masters - despite suffering from illness before the tournament.

From BBC

Liverpool defender Conor Bradley has been ruled out for the rest of the domestic season after suffering a significant knee injury, involving damage to bone and ligament.

From BBC

M&S suffered a sales fall of 2.9% in its fashion, home and beauty products which it said was still suffering from stock and inventory issues following the cyber-attack.

From BBC

Oil-producing regions such as West Texas and North Dakota are suffering from layoffs and slowing growth, and some research suggests the drop in prices hurts the overall U.S. economy as much as it helps.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• adversity
• anguish
• difficulty
• discomfort
• hardship
• misery
• misfortune
• ordeal
• torment
• torture