sufferance
/ˈsʌf(ə)ɹəns/
"sufferance" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“sufferance” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Endurance, especially patiently, of pain or adversity.
Corpus desk
Index EN-sufferance · sufferance · English
sufferance · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | sufferance |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsʌf(ə)ɹəns/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “sufferance” in English
Rare enough to double-check
sufferance is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsʌf(ə)ɹəns/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for sufferance in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English sufferaunce, from Anglo-Norman suffraunce, from Late Latin sufferentia. By surface analysis, suffer + -ance. The correct English form is sufferance, spelled S-U-F-F-E-R-A-N-C-E.
Definition
- 1Endurance, especially patiently, of pain or adversity.
- 2Acquiescence or tacit compliance with some circumstance, behavior, or instruction.
- 3Suffering; pain, misery.
- 4Loss; damage; injury.
- 5A permission granted by the customs authorities for the shipment of goods.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how sufferance appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
At length when as he ſaw her haſtie heat / Abate, and panting breath begin to fayle, / He through long ſufferãce growing now more great, / Roſe in his strength, and gan her freſh aſſayle, [...]
I indulged in this meditation for a moment, and then again addressed the mourner, who stood leaning against the bed with that expression of resigned despair, of complete misery, and a patient sufferance of it, which is far more touching than any of the insane ravings or wild gesticulation of untamed sorrow.
Etymology
From Middle English sufferaunce, from Anglo-Norman suffraunce, from Late Latin sufferentia. By surface analysis, suffer + -ance.
Synonyms
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.