suffer

verb (suffer, suffers, suffered, suffering)

«suffer» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition and Early Modern English — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

Everyday

To suffer is to feel pain, illness, sadness or other bad things. tree →
To have a bad thing happen to you: suffer a defeat, suffer damage. tree →
To become worse because of something: your work will suffer if you do not sleep. tree →

In the lessons

Used in health and science: animals suffer if not cared for; people suffer from hay fever or asthma. In history and stories: people suffered in wars and famines. Phrases: "suffer from", "suffer in silence".

Examples

She suffers from hay fever in the spring. tree →
Animals should never be left to suffer. tree →
The team suffered a big defeat. tree →
The town suffered damage in the flood. tree →
Your schoolwork will suffer if you stay up too late. tree →
Don't suffer in silence; tell an adult if you are hurt. tree →
Then everybody in the jungle suffers. tree →

Note

Regular verb: suffered, suffering (one r is not doubled because the stress is on "SUF"). Noun: suffering. Use "suffer from" with illnesses.

In Jewish tradition

Mostly the old sense "to allow or let": God did not let Abimelech touch Sarah, and "thou shalt not suffer a sorceress to live" means "do not allow her to live." "Suffer me, that I may speak" means "allow me." In Proverbs and Job it also has the usual meaning of feeling pain or going through hunger.

Interpretation. The commandment about the sorceress is read by the rabbis as forbidding sorcery that is really practiced, and they limit when the death penalty applies. Job's plea to be allowed to speak is read as a man asking for a fair hearing.

Examples

Therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. (Torah GEN.20.6, JPS 1917) tree →
Thou shalt not suffer a sorceress to live. (Torah EXO.22.18, JPS 1917) tree →
and didst not suffer me to kiss my sons and my daughters? now hast thou done foolishly. (Torah GEN.31.28, JPS 1917) tree →
Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and the idle soul shall suffer hunger. (Writings PRO.19.15, JPS 1917) tree →
That would not suffer me to take my breath, but fill me with bitterness. (Writings JOB.9.18, JPS 1917) tree →
Suffer me, that I may speak; and after that I have spoken, mock on. (Writings JOB.21.3, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Regular verb: suffered, suffering (one r is not doubled because the stress is on "SUF"). Noun: suffering. Use "suffer from" with illnesses.

Early Modern English

Meaning

To let something happen or to permit it. tree →

Then and now

Today "suffer" means to feel pain or hardship. The first and third sentences use the old sense of allowing; the second uses today's sense.

Examples

Thou shalt not suffer a sorceress to live. (Torah EXO.22.18, JPS 1917) tree →
They complain most who suffer least. (Aesop's Fables; a new translation) tree →
and didst not suffer me to kiss my sons and my daughters? now hast thou done foolishly. (Torah GEN.31.28, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Today: allow.

On Mova

Trees and pragmatics of «suffer» in the school dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
«suffer» in the school dictionary on Mova free.
Trees and pragmatics of «suffer» in the Judaism dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
«suffer» in the Judaism dictionary on Mova free.
Trees and pragmatics of «suffer» in the Early Modern English dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
«suffer» in the Early Modern English dictionary on Mova free.

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