v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Suffered p. pr. & vb. n. Suffering. ] [ OE. suffren, soffren, OF. sufrir, sofrir, F. souffrir, (assumed) LL. sofferire, for L. sufferre; sub under + ferre to bear, akin to E. bear. See Bear to support. ] 1. To feel, or endure, with pain, annoyance, etc.; to submit to with distress or grief; to undergo; as, to suffer pain of body, or grief of mind. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To endure or undergo without sinking; to support; to sustain; to bear up under. [ 1913 Webster ]

Our spirit and strength entire,
Strongly to suffer and support our pains. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To undergo; to be affected by; to sustain; to experience; as, most substances suffer a change when long exposed to air and moisture; to suffer loss or damage. [ 1913 Webster ]

If your more ponderous and settled project
May suffer alteration. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To allow; to permit; not to forbid or hinder; to tolerate. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. Lev. xix. 17. [ 1913 Webster ]

I suffer them to enter and possess. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To permit; bear; endure; support; sustain; allow; admit; tolerate. See Permit. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To feel or undergo pain of body or mind; to bear what is inconvenient; as, we suffer from pain, sickness, or sorrow; we suffer with anxiety. [ 1913 Webster ]

O well for him whose will is strong!
He suffers, but he will not suffer long. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To undergo punishment; specifically, to undergo the penalty of death. [ 1913 Webster ]

The father was first condemned to suffer upon a day appointed, and the son afterwards the day following. Clarendon. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To be injured; to sustain loss or damage. [ 1913 Webster ]

Public business suffers by private infirmities. Sir W. Temple. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. souffrable. ] 1. Able to suffer or endure; patient. [ Obs. ] “Ye must be sufferable.” Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That may be suffered, tolerated, or permitted; allowable; tolerable. [ 1913 Webster ]

-- Suf"fer*a*ble*ness, n. -- Suf"fer*a*bly, adv. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. suffrance, OF. sufrance, soufrance, F. souffrance, L. sufferentia, from sufferens, -entis, p. pr. of sufferre. See Suffer. ] 1. The state of suffering; the bearing of pain; endurance. [ 1913 Webster ]

He must not only die the death,
But thy unkindness shall his death draw out
To lingering sufferance. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Pain endured; misery; suffering; distress. [ 1913 Webster ]

The seeming sufferances that you had borne. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Loss; damage; injury. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

A grievous . . . sufferance on most part of their fleet. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Submission under difficult or oppressive circumstances; patience; moderation. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

But hasty heat tempering with sufferance wise. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Negative consent by not forbidding or hindering; toleration; permission; allowance; leave. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

In their beginning they are weak and wan,
But soon, through sufferance, grow to fearful end. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

Somewhiles by sufferance, and somewhiles by special leave and favor, they erected to themselves oratories. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. A permission granted by the customs authorities for the shipment of goods. [ Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Estate of sufferance (Law), the holding by a tenant who came in by a lawful title, but remains, after his right has expired, without positive leave of the owner. Blackstone. --
On sufferance, by mere toleration; as, to remain in a house on sufferance. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Endurance; pain; misery; inconvenience; patience; moderation; toleration; permission. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who suffers; one who endures or undergoes suffering; one who sustains inconvenience or loss; as, sufferers by poverty or sickness; men are sufferers by fire or by losses at sea. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who permits or allows. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Being in pain or grief; having loss, injury, distress, etc. -- Suf"fer*ing*ly, adv. [1913 Webster]

n. 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. “Souls in sufferings tried.” Keble. [ 1913 Webster ]