noun
- A state of acute pain.
- synonyms: agony, excruciation
- Misery resulting from affliction.
- synonyms: woe
- Psychological suffering.
- usage: "the death of his wife caused him great distress"
- Feelings of mental or physical pain.
- synonyms: hurt
verb
- Undergo or be subjected to.
- usage: "He suffered the penalty"; "Many saints suffered martyrdom"
- Undergo (as of injuries and illnesses. )
- usage: "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"
- Experience (emotional) pain.
- usage: "Every time her husband gets drunk, she suffers"
- synonyms: suffer
- Put up with something or somebody unpleasant.
- usage: "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"
- Get worse.
- usage: "His grades suffered"
- synonyms: suffer
- Feel pain or be in pain.
- Feel physical pain.
- usage: "Were you hurting after the accident"
- Feel unwell or uncomfortable.
- usage: "She is suffering from the hot weather"
- synonyms: suffer
- Be given to.
- usage: "She suffers from a tendency to talk too much"
- synonyms: suffer
- Undergo or suffer.
- usage: "meet a violent death"; "suffer a terrible fate"
- Be set at a disadvantage.
- usage: "This author really suffers in translation"
adjective
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
| APA | WordNet. (2010). Suffering. Retrieved September 22, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/suffering/definitions/1184700 |
| Chicago | WordNet. 2010. "Suffering" http://smartdefine.org/suffering/definitions/1184700 (accessed September 22, 2026). |
| Harvard | WordNet 2010, Suffering, Smart Define, viewed 22 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/suffering/definitions/1184700>. |
| MLA | WordNet. "Suffering" 23 October 2010. Web. 22 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/suffering/definitions/1184700> |