suffer

Suffer is a verb whose core meaning is to experience something undesirable or painful, often with an element of endurance. In everyday usage, it describes enduring physical pain, harm, or hardship, or undergoing any adverse event. Examples include "She suffered injuries in the crash," "The region suffered extensive damage," and "Many people suffer from chronic anxiety." The construction "suffer from" or "suffer through" is common.

A less common, historical sense is to permit or allow something to occur, or to tolerate something. In this archaic or formal usage, one might encounter phrases such as "suffer a cross" or "suffer a mistake," but today it is rare outside legal or religious texts; "permit" or "allow" are preferred in contemporary English.

Etymology: the word comes from Old French souffrir, from Latin pati, meaning to bear or endure. Over time, English usage shifted from the general idea of bearing hardship to emphasize the experience of it. The noun "suffering" denotes the state or condition of undergoing pain, misfortune, or hardship, and "sufferer" refers to a person who experiences it.

Common collocations and uses include "suffer losses, injuries, or defeat," "suffer consequences," "suffer from a disease or condition," and "suffer through a difficult period." The term is widely used in medical, legal, religious, and literary contexts, and is less common in casual modern speech when referring to permitting something.