# suffer

/ˈsəfɝ/ (US) · /sˈʌfɐ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/suffer
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. to feel pain or distress

verb · CEFR B1

to feel physical pain or great sadness.

For teachers: to experience physical or mental pain, distress, or hardship. Often used with the preposition 'from' to indicate the cause.

- Many people suffer from seasonal allergies during the spring months.
- The patient continued to suffer from chronic back pain despite undergoing several rounds of physical therapy and medication.

Usage: Commonly takes the preposition 'from' when referring to a disease or condition.

### 2. to experience something bad

verb · CEFR B2

to experience something unpleasant, like a loss or a defeat.

For teachers: to undergo or be subjected to something detrimental or unpleasant. Transitive in this sense, taking a direct object like 'loss' or 'defeat'.

- The company suffered a huge financial loss after the new product failed.
- The battalion suffered heavy casualties during the initial assault, forcing the commander to order a tactical withdrawal.

Usage: Functions transitively when the object is a specific event like 'a loss', 'a defeat', or 'an injury'.

### 3. to become worse

verb · CEFR B2

to lose quality or become less effective because of a problem.

For teachers: to deteriorate in quality, condition, or effectiveness as a result of neglect or adverse circumstances.

- His schoolwork began to suffer because he spent too much time playing games.
- The quality of the restaurant's service has suffered since the original manager retired last year.

Usage: Intransitive; the subject is usually the thing that is declining in quality.

### 4. to allow

verb · CEFR C2 · Archaic · Formal

to allow or permit something to happen.

For teachers: to tolerate, allow, or permit. This usage is restricted to formal, legal, or scriptural contexts.

- The old laws would not suffer such behavior in public places.
- The magistrate refused to suffer any further interruptions from the gallery during the witness testimony.

Teaching tip: This sense is rare in modern speech; learners will mostly encounter it in the Bible or historical legal texts.

## Examples

- Many people suffer from allergies in the spring.
- The company's reputation began to suffer after several customers reported poor service and long delays.
- While the protagonist does not suffer any physical injuries during the ordeal, the narrative focuses heavily on the psychological toll the isolation takes on his mental health.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.