Definitions for suffering
ˈsʌf ər ɪŋ, ˈsʌf rɪŋsuf·fer·ing

Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. agony, suffering, excruciationnoun

   a state of acute pain

2. suffering, woenoun

   misery resulting from affliction

3. distress, hurt, sufferingnoun

   psychological suffering

   "the death of his wife caused him great distress"

4. suffering, hurtadjective

   feelings of mental or physical pain

5. sufferingadjective

   troubled by pain or loss

   "suffering refugees"

6. miserable, suffering, wretchedadjective

   very unhappy; full of misery

   "he felt depressed and miserable"; "a message of hope for suffering humanity"; "wretched prisoners huddled in stinking cages"

Wiktionary(3.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. sufferingnoun

   The condition of someone who suffers; a state of pain or distress.

2. sufferingadjective

   Experiencing pain.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Suffering

   of Suffer

2. Sufferingnoun

   the bearing of pain, inconvenience, or loss; pain endured; distress, loss, or injury incurred; as, sufferings by pain or sorrow; sufferings by want or by wrongs

3. Sufferingadjective

   being in pain or grief; having loss, injury, distress, etc

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Suffering

   Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, is an experience of unpleasantness and aversion associated with the perception of harm or threat of harm in an individual. Suffering is the basic element that makes up the negative valence of affective phenomena. Suffering may be qualified as physical or mental. It may come in all degrees of intensity, from mild to intolerable. Factors of duration and frequency of occurrence usually compound that of intensity. Attitudes toward suffering may vary widely, in the sufferer or other people, according to how much it is regarded as avoidable or unavoidable, useful or useless, deserved or undeserved. Suffering occurs in the lives of sentient beings in numerous manners, and often dramatically. As a result, many fields of human activity are concerned, from their own points of view, with some aspects of suffering. These aspects may include the nature of suffering, its processes, its origin and causes, its meaning and significance, its related personal, social, and cultural behaviors, its remedies, management, and uses.

Matched Categories

1. • Pain

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'suffering' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3660

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'suffering' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4126

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'suffering' in Nouns Frequency: #2392

How to pronounce suffering?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say suffering in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of suffering in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of suffering in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of suffering in a Sentence

1. Christina Richey:

   Institutions appear to be more worried about self-preservation than about their most vulnerable members, it's understandable from a financial standpoint, frankly, but when we don't see notorious harassers being fired or suffering any adverse consequences, we are less confident that complaints will be heard and adjudicated fairly. Then there are fewer complaints and less enforcement.

2. Jonathan Walton:

   God made us all as brothers and sisters, i'm mad when people don't treat others as brothers and sisters. I'm concerned about the suffering of all people, not just black people. If anybody is being treated unjustly, I'm with them.

3. Benjamin Breyer:

   Compounding these physiologic issues are complex social and relational challenges that meet the veteran when they return home to established relationships, if you’re suffering from depression or PTSD, it’s more difficult to relate to your spouse, which can strain the relationship and diminish sexual wellness.

4. Frances Cheung:

   The won is both risk- and trade-sensitive, and as such it is suffering, upward pressure on USD/Asia is likely to stay before we see some economic improvement (in China).

5. Chris Mancini:

   The reduction in pay overall is a nice thing to see from a long-suffering shareholder's perspective.

Popularity rank by frequency of use