- present participle of suffer.
suffering
Americannoun
-
the pain, misery, or loss experienced by a person who suffers
-
the state or an instance of enduring pain, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of suffering
First recorded in 1350–1400; suffer + -ing 1 ( def. )
Explanation
Suffering is the kind of pain you feel when you shatter your ankle and it's what you'll see all around you if you find yourself in the middle of a tornado or an earthquake. When you're suffering, you're not happy — in fact, you're quite miserable. The Latin roots that give us suffering and related words paint a vivid picture of what suffering feels like. The word comes from sub-, meaning "below," and ferre, "bear." Suffering is something pressing you down that you have to submit to and bear. It's definitely the opposite of fun.
Vocabulary lists containing suffering
Because of Winn-Dixie
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"The Young American" by Ralph Waldo Emerson
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The House of Hades
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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.
WASHINGTON—Emergency responders sent to Sen. Lindsey Graham’s home Saturday night performed CPR on an individual suffering from cardiac arrest, according to dispatch audio reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 12, 2026
But he said his fear was nothing compared with the suffering of those who died.
From Barron's • Jul. 11, 2026
He said he apologised for all the suffering he had caused.
From BBC • Jul. 8, 2026
“Second Life” is yet another tale of a woman suffering from severe mental illness.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 8, 2026
And since we were not-friends, I couldn’t ask for the secret to her hair sorcery and put an end to my suffering.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
