sufferance
/ˈsʌf(ə)ɹəns/noun
sufferance is spelled S-U-F-F-E-R-A-N-C-E: 10 letters. It appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 114,361st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sufferance means “Acquiescence or tacit compliance with some circumstance, behavior, or instruction” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sufferance is sufferances.
How many letters and syllables are in sufferance?
| Letters | 10: S-U-F-F-E-R-A-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 14 million words; the 114,361st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is sufferance?
Sufferance appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 114,361st 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 sufferance?
- UK /ˈsʌf(ə)ɹəns/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sufferance.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sufferance
- sufferances plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sufferance mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
archaicEndurance, especially patiently, of pain or adversity.
- 2
Acquiescence or tacit compliance with some circumstance, behavior, or instruction.
- 3
archaicSuffering; pain, misery.
- 4
obsoleteLoss; damage; injury.
- 5
UKA permission granted by the customs authorities for the shipment of goods.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does sufferance come from?
From Middle English sufferaunce, from Anglo-Norman suffraunce, from Late Latin sufferentia. By surface analysis, suffer + -ance.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).