Adjacent Words

Suffer definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SUF'FER, v.t.[L. suffero; sub, under, and fero, to bear; as we say, to undergo.]
1. To feel or bear what is painful, disagreeable or distressing, either to the body or mind; to undergo. We suffer pain of body; we suffer grief of mind. The criminal suffers punishment; the sinner suffers the pangs of conscience in this life, and is condemned to suffer the wrath of an offended God. We often suffer wrong; we suffer abuse; we suffer injustice.
2. To endure; to support; to sustain; not to sink under.
Our spirit and strength entire,
Strongly to suffer and support our pains.
3. To allow; to permit; not to forbid or hinder. Will you suffer yourself to be insulted?
I suffer them to enter and possess.
Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him. Lex.19.
4. To undergo; to be affected by. Substances suffer an entire change by the action of fire, or by entering into new combinations.
5. To sustain; to be affected by; as, to suffer loss or damage.
SUF'FER,v.i. To feel or undergo pain of body or mind; to bear what is inconvenient. We suffer with pain, sickness or sorrow. We suffer with anxiety. We suffer by evils past and by anticipating others to come. We suffer from fear and from disappointed hopes.
1. To undergo, as punishment.
The father was first condemned to suffer on a day appointed,and the son afterwards, the day following.
2. To be injured; to sustain loss or damage. A building suffers for want of seasonable repairs. It is just that we should suffer for neglect of duty.
Public business suffers by private infirmities.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: undergo or be subjected to; "He suffered the penalty"; "Many saints suffered martyrdom" [syn: suffer, endure] [ant: enjoy]
2: undergo (as of injuries and illnesses); "She suffered a fracture in the accident"; "He had an insulin shock after eating three candy bars"; "She got a bruise on her leg"; "He got his arm broken in the scuffle" [syn: suffer, sustain, have, get]
3: experience (emotional) pain; "Every time her husband gets drunk, she suffers"
4: put up with something or somebody unpleasant; "I cannot bear his constant criticism"; "The new secretary had to endure a lot of unprofessional remarks"; "he learned to tolerate the heat"; "She stuck out two years in a miserable marriage" [syn: digest, endure, stick out, stomach, bear, stand, tolerate, support, brook, abide, suffer, put up]
5: get worse; "His grades suffered"
6: feel pain or be in pain [syn: suffer, hurt] [ant: be well]
7: feel physical pain; "Were you hurting after the accident?" [syn: hurt, ache, suffer]
8: feel unwell or uncomfortable; "She is suffering from the hot weather"
9: be given to; "She suffers from a tendency to talk too much"
10: undergo or suffer; "meet a violent death"; "suffer a terrible fate" [syn: suffer, meet]
11: be set at a disadvantage; "This author really suffers in translation" [syn: suffer, lose]

Merriam Webster's

verb (suffered; suffering) Etymology: Middle English suffren, from Anglo-French suffrir, from Vulgar Latin *sufferire, from Latin sufferre, from sub- up + ferre to bear — more at sub-, bear Date: 13th century transitive verb 1. a. to submit to or be forced to endure <suffer martyrdom> b. to feel keenly ; labor under <suffer thirst> 2. undergo, experience 3. to put up with especially as inevitable or unavoidable 4. to allow especially by reason of indifference <the eagle suffers little birds to sing — Shakespeare> intransitive verb 1. to endure death, pain, or distress 2. to sustain loss or damage 3. to be subject to disability or handicap Synonyms: see bear • sufferable adjective • sufferableness noun • sufferably adverb • sufferer noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. 1 intr. undergo pain, grief, damage, etc. (suffers acutely; your reputation will suffer; suffers from neglect). 2 tr. undergo, experience, or be subjected to (pain, loss, grief, defeat, change, etc.) (suffered banishment). 3 tr. put up with; tolerate (does not suffer fools gladly). 4 intr. undergo martyrdom. 5 intr. (usu. foll. by to + infin.) archaic allow. Derivatives: sufferable adj. sufferer n. suffering n. Etymology: ME f. AF suffrir, soeffrir, OF sof(f)rir f. L sufferre (as SUB-, ferre bear)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Suffer Suf"fer, v. i. 1. To feel or undergo pain of body or mind; to bear what is inconvenient; as, we suffer from pain, sickness, or sorrow; we suffer with anxiety. O well for him whose will is strong! He suffers, but he will not suffer long. --Tennyson. 2. To undergo punishment; specifically, to undergo the penalty of death. The father was first condemned to suffer upon a day appointed, and the son afterwards the day following. --Clarendon. 3. To be injured; to sustain loss or damage. Public business suffers by private infirmities. --Sir W. Temple.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Suffer Suf"fer, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Suffered; p. pr. & vb. n. Suffering.] [OE. suffren, soffren, OF. sufrir, sofrir, F. souffrir, (assumed) LL. sofferire, for L. sufferre; sub under + ferre to bear, akin to E. bear. See Bear to support.] 1. To feel, or endure, with pain, annoyance, etc.; to submit to with distress or grief; to undergo; as, to suffer pain of body, or grief of mind. 2. To endure or undergo without sinking; to support; to sustain; to bear up under. Our spirit and strength entire, Strongly to suffer and support our pains. --Milton. 3. To undergo; to be affected by; to sustain; to experience; as, most substances suffer a change when long exposed to air and moisture; to suffer loss or damage. If your more ponderous and settled project May suffer alteration. --Shak. 4. To allow; to permit; not to forbid or hinder; to tolerate. Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. --Lev. xix. 17. I suffer them to enter and possess. --Milton. Syn: To permit; bear; endure; support; sustain; allow; admit; tolerate. See Permit.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(suffers, suffering, suffered) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. If you suffer pain, you feel it in your body or in your mind. Within a few days she had become seriously ill, suffering great pain and discomfort... Can you assure me that my father is not suffering? VERB: V n, V 2. If you suffer from an illness or from some other bad condition, you are badly affected by it. He was eventually diagnosed as suffering from terminal cancer... I realized he was suffering from shock. VERB: V from n, V from n 3. If you suffer something bad, you are in a situation in which something painful, harmful, or very unpleasant happens to you. The peace process has suffered a serious blow now... Romania suffered another setback in its efforts to obtain financial support for its reforms. VERB: V n, V n 4. If you suffer, you are badly affected by an event or situation. There are few who have not suffered... It is obvious that Syria will suffer most from this change of heart. VERB: V, V from n 5. If something suffers, it does not succeed because it has not been given enough attention or is in a bad situation. I'm not surprised that your studies are suffering... Without a major boost in tourism, the economy will suffer even further. VERB: V, V 6. see also suffering

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Undergo, feel, meet with, experience, go through. 2. Endure, sustain, support, tolerate, bear, bear up under, put up with, stand, pocket, stomach. 3. Undergo, sustain, be affected by, be acted upon. 4. Permit, allow, indulge, admit, let, give permission to, give leave to. II. v. n. 1. Feel pain. 2. Be put to inconvenience. 3. Be punished, undergo punishment. 4. Be injured, be impaired, sustain loss or damage.

Moby Thesaurus

abide, abide with, accept, ache, acquiesce, admit, agonize, ail, allow, anguish, be affected with, be doubly punished, be exposed to, be punished, be subjected to, bear, bear with, bide, blanch, bleed, blench, blink at, bow, brave, brook, catch it, complain of, condone, connive at, countenance, decline, deteriorate, diminish, encounter, endure, experience, fall off, feel, feel ill, feel pain, feel the pangs, get it, go down, go hard with, go through, grimace, grin and abide, hang in, hang in there, hang tough, have, have a misery, hear of, humor, hurt, indulge, know, labor under, leave, let, live through, lump, lump it, meet, meet up with, meet with, overlook, pain, pass through, pay, permit, persevere, pound, put up with, receive, run up against, see, shoot, shrink, smart, spend, stand, stand for, stand under, stick, stomach, submit, submit to, suffer anguish, suffer for, suffer the consequences, support, sustain, swallow, sweat, take, take up with, taste, thrill, throb, tingle, tolerate, twinge, twitch, undergo, wince, wink at, withstand, writhe, yield