Suffering
noun /ˈsʌfərɪŋ/ — The experience of pain or distress — and the strange fact that it can deepen the person who endures it.
Definition
The state of undergoing pain, distress, or hardship; the experience of prolonged difficulty or misfortune.
Beyond the definition
Suffering is the most general of the pain words — it covers everything from minor inconvenience to total devastation. But in its serious uses, it names something real: the transformation that comes from enduring what cannot be avoided. Suffering is not always meaningless.
Origin & history
From Latin sufferre — to bear from below (sub: under + ferre: to carry). Carrying from underneath — suffering as the weight borne upward. The Latin image is of being pressed by something you nonetheless support.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
Her suffering had changed her — she was gentler than she'd been, more careful with other people's pain.
He didn't believe that suffering built character, but he noticed that it had.
The strange productivity of suffering: it strips away the unnecessary.
How to use it
This entry uses a noun. Follow the examples for articles and singular or plural forms; not every noun takes “a” or “an.”
Choose “Suffering” when the meaning fits your context: The state of undergoing pain, distress, or hardship; the experience of prolonged difficulty or misfortune.
Synonyms
Antonyms
ease, comfort, joy
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Burden of Witnessing Struggles
An adult sits on a bench, head in their hands, disconnected from the chaotic crowd of people around them.
The person's weary, hunched posture and complete lack of engagement with the surrounding activity represent a state of profound suffering. Their condition reflects the weight of enduring hardship and the fatigue of witnessing intense, collective difficulties while feeling unable to respond.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration
Questions about this word
What does "Suffering" mean?
Suffering is noun meaning: The experience of pain or distress — and the strange fact that it can deepen the person who endures it.. The state of undergoing pain, distress, or hardship; the experience of prolonged difficulty or misfortune.
Where does the word "Suffering" come from?
From Latin sufferre — to bear from below (sub: under + ferre: to carry). Carrying from underneath — suffering as the weight borne upward. The Latin image is of being pressed by something you nonetheless support.