suffer

verb
UK: /ˈsʌfər/
US: /ˈsʌfər/

  1. To experience pain, illness, or injury.

    1. I suffer from headaches sometimes. [ ] [ ]
    2. Many people suffer after the hurricane, needing basic supplies and shelter. [ ] [ ]

  2. To experience something unpleasant.

    1. We suffer from the loud noise. [ ] [ ]
    2. The company will suffer greatly if they lose this important contract. [ ] [ ]

  3. To tolerate something that is bad or unpleasant.

    1. I will not suffer fools gladly. [ ] [ ]
    2. The city can no longer suffer the high levels of pollution in certain areas. [ ] [ ]

Synonyms

endure ache undergo bear hurt grieve experience tolerate
suffer transitive-verb

  1. To experience or show the effects of something bad.

    1. The building suffered damage in the fire. [ ] [ ]
    2. The economy suffered a significant setback due to the recent crisis. [ ] [ ]
suffer intransitive-verb

  1. To experience pain or hardship; to be affected negatively.

    1. She will suffer if she doesn't study. [ ] [ ]
    2. Small businesses often suffer when larger corporations dominate the market. [ ] [ ]
suffer phrasal-verb

  1. To experience something negative

    1. They let children suffer. [ ] [ ]
    2. I won't suffer such behavior from you or anyone else involved. [ ] [ ]

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "suffer" in English means: To experience pain, illness, or injury., To experience something unpleasant., To tolerate something that is bad or unpleasant..

The phonetic transcription of "suffer" is /ˈsʌfər/ in British English and /ˈsʌfər/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "suffer": endure, ache, undergo, bear, hurt, grieve, experience, tolerate.

Example usage of "suffer": "I suffer from headaches sometimes.". More examples on the page.