suffer

verb

(intransitive) To feel pain.

(intransitive) To undergo hardship.

(intransitive) To become worse.

(transitive) To endure, undergo.

(transitive, archaic, law) To allow.

Roots

subsuf- · Latin · under, below fero-fer · Latin · carry, bear

Synonyms for suffer

endurev toleratev hurtv achen abidev havev undergov sustainv bearv withstandv agonizev painn

Synonyms & related words for suffer

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of suffer — including endure, tolerate, hurt, ache, abide, have. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to suffer

Explore words related to suffer — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include lose, afflict, sufferings, sufferable, passible, sufferably, incur, inflict. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for suffer

Common synonyms for suffer include endure, tolerate, hurt, ache, abide, have, undergo, sustain — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does suffer come from?

The word suffer breaks down into 2 roots of Latin origin: suf-, from Latin sub (“under, below”); and -fer, from Latin fero (“carry, bear”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.