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v. suf·fered, suf·fer·ing, suf·fers v.intr. 1. To feel pain or distress; sustain injury or harm: suffer from arthritis; made the people suffer for their disloyalty. 2. a. To have a specified shortcoming or weakness: writing that suffers from poor organization. b. To sustain a loss, setback, or decline in effectiveness; become worse: When morale drops, the company's performance suffers. c. To appear at a disadvantage: "He suffers by comparison with his greater contemporary" (Albert C. Baugh). v.tr. 1. a. To experience, undergo, or feel (something painful, injurious, or unpleasant): suffer a heart attack; suffer a debilitating illness; suffer pain. b. To undergo or be subjected to (a negative experience or development): a team that suffered a defeat; a species that suffered a decline in population; a business that suffered huge losses. 2. b. 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; see bher-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] suffer·er n. suffer·ing·ly adv. |
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