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PlainSpell

suffer

suf·fer/ˈsʌfɚ/verb

suffer is spelled S-U-F-F-E-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables (suf·fer). It appears 28 times per million words in written English, the 3,288th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, suffer means “To undergo hardship” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in suffer?

Letters6: S-U-F-F-E-R
Syllables2: suf·fer
In writing28 times per million words; the 3,288th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is suffer?

Suffer appears 28 times per million words in written English, the 3,288th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce suffer?

  • UK /ˈsʌfə/
  • US /ˈsʌfɚ/

Suffer has 2 syllables, split suf·fer in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-suffer.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with suffer?

7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as suffer from its last stressed vowel (/ʌfəɹ/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of suffer

  • suffers present, singular, he/she/it
  • suffering participle, present
  • suffered participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does suffer mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To undergo hardship.

    Many artists suffer before becoming famous.

  2. 2

    To feel pain.

    At least he didn't suffer when he died in the car crash.

  3. 3

    To become worse.

    If you keep partying like this, your school-work will suffer.

  4. 4

    To endure, undergo.

    I've been suffering your insults for years.

  5. 5

    archaicTo allow.

    "Employ" includes to suffer or permit to work.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Suffer in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchsouffrir (undergo hardship), souffrir de, pâtir de (become worse), endurer (to endure, undergo)
Germanleiden (undergo hardship), erleiden (to endure, undergo)
Portuguesesofrer (undergo hardship), piorar (become worse), deixar, permitir (''(archaic in English)'' to allow)
Spanishsufrir, penar, padecer (undergo hardship), adolecer (feel pain)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does suffer come from?

From Middle English suffren, from Anglo-Norman suffrir, from Latin sufferre (“to offer, hold up, bear, suffer”), from sub- (“up, under”) + ferō (“to carry”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to bear, carry”). Displaced native Old English þrōwian.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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