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suffer

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verb British English pronunciation: suffer /ˈsʌfə(r)/ 
Word Forms
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present tense
I/you/we/theysuffer
he/she/itsuffers
present participlesuffering
past tensesuffered
past participlesuffered
  1. 1
    [intransitive/transitive] to feel pain in your body or your mind

    Don't worry, the animal won't suffer any pain.

    When parents argue constantly, it's the children who suffer most.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of suffer
    1. a.
      to have a particular illness or physical problem
      suffer from:

      patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease

      She suffered from depression for most of her adult life.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of suffer
  2. 2
    [transitive] to experience something very unpleasant or painful

    Some patients suffered severe side-effects from the treatment.

    About one fifth of adults have suffered occasional periods of unemployment.

    Our team suffered another humiliating defeat last night.

    suffer the consequences:

    If you choose to ignore the rules, you'll have to suffer the consequences.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of suffer
    1. a.
      [intransitive] to be badly affected by a very difficult or unpleasant situation

      a prolonged civil war, in which ordinary people have suffered terribly

      suffer from:

      The region continues to suffer from serious pollution.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of suffer
  3. 3
    [intransitive] to become worse or less successful

    Ben was constantly away from home on business and, not surprisingly, their relationship suffered.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of suffer

This is the British English definition of suffer. View American English definition of suffer.

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View the pronunciation for suffer.

 

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