suffer Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb undergo or be subjected to
    endure.
    • He suffered the penalty
    • Many saints suffered martyrdom
  2. verb undergo (as of injuries and illnesses)
    sustain; have; get.
    • 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
  3. verb experience (emotional) pain
    • Every time her husband gets drunk, she suffers
  4. verb put up with something or somebody unpleasant
    stomach; brook; support; put up; tolerate; bear; abide; endure; stick out; digest; stand.
    • 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
  5. verb get worse
    • His grades suffered
  6. verb feel pain or be in pain
    hurt.
  7. verb feel physical pain
    ache; hurt.
    • Were you hurting after the accident?
  8. verb feel unwell or uncomfortable
    • She is suffering from the hot weather
  9. verb be given to
    • She suffers from a tendency to talk too much
  10. verb undergo or suffer
    meet.
    • meet a violent death
    • suffer a terrible fate
  11. verb be set at a disadvantage
    lose.
    • This author really suffers in translation

WordNet

Suf"fer transitive verb
Etymology
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.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Suffered ; present participle & verbal noun Suffering
Definitions
  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.
Suf"fer intransitive verb
Definitions
  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 1913