- 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.
See Examples For:
By then, he was suffering from fever, chills, muscle pain, a sore throat and bleeding.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
That’s because you’ve got debate fever, suffering reader.
From Slate ● Oct. 10, 2026
"The conflict in Sudan, unfortunately, has been forgotten. And this is a conflict that has really reflected tremendous humanitarian suffering," he told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
After the 2025 fires, there were complaints by residents that the Fair Plan refused to test and remediate homes suffering damage by smoke, which can leave behind lead, asbestos and other toxins.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
I wanted to use my gift to help people, to wish away all the pain and suffering in this world.
From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat
I saw no deep reflection on the sufferings of his countrymen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Dame Sarah said the Pope's message "reminded us that despite our sufferings, people long for life in all its fullness and countless people are working each day for this vision of the common good".
From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026
Researchers have increasingly linked such sufferings to heavy social media use among adolescents.
From Barron's ● Mar. 25, 2026
He reminded Americans that they had “in a common cause fought and triumphed together. The independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint councils and joint efforts—of common dangers, sufferings, and successes.”
From Salon ● Jan. 17, 2025
“Perhaps you, in your great interest for the sufferings of others, might find the solution to the cure,” she says.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
