- 1[intransitive] to be badly affected by a disease, pain, sadness, a lack of something, etc. I hate to see animals suffering. suffer from something He suffers from asthma. traffic accident victims suffering from shock Many companies are suffering from a shortage of skilled staff. suffer for something He made a rash decision and now he is suffering for it.
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- 2[transitive] suffer something to experience something unpleasant, such as injury, defeat, or loss He suffered a massive heart attack. The party suffered a humiliating defeat in the congressional elections. The company suffered huge losses in the last financial year.
- 3[intransitive] to become worse His school work is suffering because of family problems. Idioms
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NAmE//ˈsʌfər//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they suffer he / she / it suffers
past simple suffered
-ing form suffering
to have very little patience with people that you think are stupid She was a forceful personality who didn't suffer fools gladly.
Check pronunciation: suffer