suffer

(sŭf'ər)

v., -fered, -fer·ing, -fers.

v.intr.

1. To feel pain or distress; sustain loss, injury, harm, or punishment.
2. To tolerate or endure evil, injury, pain, or death. See synonyms at bear¹.
3. To appear at a disadvantage: "He suffers by comparison with his greater contemporary" (Albert C. Baugh).

v.tr.

1. To undergo or sustain (something painful, injurious, or unpleasant): "Ordinary men have always had to suffer the history their leaders were making" (Herbert J. Muller).
2. To experience; undergo: suffer a change in staff.
3. To endure or bear; stand: would not suffer fools.
4. To permit; allow: "They were not suffered to aspire to so exalted a position as that of streetcar conductor" (Edmund S. Morgan).

[Middle English suffren, from Old French sufrir, from Vulgar Latin *sufferīre, from Latin sufferre : sub-, sub- + ferre, to carry.]

sufferer suf'fer·er n.
sufferingly suf'fer·ing·ly adv.

USAGE NOTE   In general usage the preferred preposition after suffer is from, rather than with, in constructions such as He suffered from hypertension. Ninety-four percent of the Usage Panel found suffered with unacceptable in the preceding example. In medical usage suffer with is sometimes employed with reference to the pain or discomfort caused by a condition, while suffer from is used more broadly in reference to a condition, such as anemia, that is detrimental but not necessarily painful.

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verb

1. To feel, show, or express grief: grieve, lament, mourn, sorrow. See happy/unhappy.
2. To participate in or partake of personally: experience, feel, go through, have, know, meet¹ (with), see, taste (of), undergo. Archaic prove. Idioms: run up against. See participate/abstain.
3. To put up with: abide, accept, bear, brook², endure, go, stand (for), stomach, support, sustain, swallow, take, tolerate, withstand. Informal lump². Idioms: take it, take it lying down. See accept/reject.
4. To neither forbid nor prevent: allow, have, let, permit, tolerate. See allow/prevent.

v

Definition: be in pain
Antonyms: aid, alleviate, assist, comfort, help, relieve

v

Definition: endure, permit
Antonyms: disallow, fight, refuse, reject

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

To admit, allow, or permit.

The term suffer is used to convey the idea of acquiescence, passivity, indifference, or abstention from preventive action, as opposed to the taking of an affirmative step.

IN BRIEF: To feel pain.

Call a friend when you are sad. There is no need to suffer alone.

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sign description: The A-hand makes a twisting motion at the chin.

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See words rhyming with "sufferer."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Suffer.

Dansk (Danish)
v. intr. - lide
v. tr. - lide, tåle, finde sig i, tillade, lade

idioms:

• not suffer fools gladly    ikke gerne finde sig i tåber

Nederlands (Dutch)
lijden, verdragen, boeten, verduren

Français (French)
v. intr. - souffrir de, souffrir, s'en ressentir, en pâtir
v. tr. - subir, souffrir de, supporter (sout)

idioms:

• not suffer fools gladly    ne pas supporter les imbéciles

Deutsch (German)
v. - erleiden, lassen, leiden

idioms:

• not suffer fools gladly    mit dummen Leuten keine Geduld haben

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - υποφέρω, υπομένω, ανέχομαι, υφίσταμαι (ζημιά κ.λπ.), δεινοπαθώ, κακοπαθαίνω, πάσχω, επιτρέπω απρόθυμα ή κατά παρέκκλιση

idioms:

• not suffer fools gladly    δεν αντέχω τους ανόητους

Italiano (Italian)
sopportare, tollerare, soffrire, scontare

idioms:

• not suffer fools gladly    non tollerare gli scemi

Português (Portuguese)
v. - sofrer

idioms:

• not suffer fools gladly    não ter paciência com os outros

Русский (Russian)
страдать, претерпевать, испытывать, быть наказанным, терпеть, подвергаться, позволять

idioms:

• not suffer fools gladly    снисходительно относиться к людской глупости

Español (Spanish)
v. intr. - sufrir, padecer, experimentar, pasar
v. tr. - aguantar, soportar, permitir, sufrir, conllevar, resistir, tolerar

idioms:

• not suffer fools gladly    no aguanta a los imbéciles

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - lida, utstå, få tåla, uthärda, drabbas av, undergå, genomgå, tåla, finna sig i

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
受痛苦, 受损害, 遭受, 忍受, 经历

idioms:

• not suffer fools gladly    对蠢人没有耐心

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. intr. - 受痛苦, 受損害
v. tr. - 遭受, 忍受, 經歷

idioms:

• not suffer fools gladly    對蠢人沒有耐心

한국어 (Korean)
v. intr. - 고생하다, 앓다, 병들다
v. tr. - 경험하다, 견디다, ~을 허용하다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 苦しむ, 悩む, 患う, 受ける, 経験する, 我慢する

idioms:

• not suffer fools gladly    ばか者どもに我慢できない

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يعاني , يتحمل‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. intr. - ‮סבל, התענה, נפגע, ניזוק‬
v. tr. - ‮סבל, התענה, הרשה, הניח‬

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