4 VERB If you suffer , you are badly affected by an event or situation. □ [V ] There are few who have not suffered. □ [V + from ] It is obvious that poor people will suffer most from this change of heart.
5 VERB If something suffers , it does not succeed because it has not been given enough attention or is in a bad situation. □ [V ] I'm not surprised that your studies are suffering. □ [V ] Without a major boost in tourism, the economy will suffer even further.
6 → see also suffering SYNONYMS suffer VERB 3
undergo: He underwent an agonising 48-hour wait for the results of tests.
go through: He was going through a very difficult time.
endure: The company endured heavy financial losses.
suf|fer|ance /sʌ frəns/ N‑UNCOUNT [usu on N ] If you are allowed to do something on sufferance , you can do it, although you know that the person who gave you permission would prefer that you did not do it. □ His party held office on sufferance.
suf|fer|er /sʌ fərə r / (sufferers ) N‑COUNT [n N ] A sufferer from an illness or some other bad condition is a person who is affected by the illness or condition. □ [+ of ] Frequently sufferers of this kind of allergy are also sufferers of asthma. □ …hay-fever sufferers.
suf|fer|ing /sʌ fər I ŋ/ (sufferings )
1 N‑UNCOUNT Suffering is serious pain which someone feels in their body or their mind. □ It has caused terrible suffering to animals. □ His many novels have portrayed the sufferings of his race.
2 → see also long-suffering
suf|fice /səfa I s/ (suffices , sufficing , sufficed )
1 VERB [no cont] If you say that something will suffice , you mean it will be enough to achieve a purpose or to fulfil a need. [FORMAL ] □ [V ] A cover letter should never exceed one page; often a far shorter letter will suffice. [Also V to-inf]
2 PHRASE Suffice it to say or suffice to say is used at the beginning of a statement to indicate that what you are saying is obvious, or that you will only give a short explanation. □ Suffice it to say that afterwards we never met again.
suf|fi|cien|cy /səf I ʃ ə nsi/
1 N‑UNCOUNT [oft a N ] Sufficiency of something is enough of that thing to achieve a purpose or to fulfil a need. [FORMAL ] □ There's a sufficiency of drama in these lives to sustain your interest.
2 → see also self-sufficiency
suf|fi|cient ◆◇◇ /səf I ʃ ə nt/ ADJ [oft ADJ to-inf, ADJ n to-inf] If something is sufficient for a particular purpose, there is enough of it for the purpose. □ One metre of fabric is sufficient to cover the exterior of an 18-in-diameter hatbox. □ There was not sufficient evidence to secure a conviction. [Also + for ] ● suf|fi|cient|ly ADV □ She recovered sufficiently to accompany him on his tour of Africa. SYNONYMS sufficient ADJ
adequate: The old methods weren't adequate to meet current needs.
enough: They had enough cash for a one-way ticket.
ample: There'll be ample opportunity to relax, swim and soak up some sun.
suf|fix /sʌ f I ks/ (suffixes )
1 N‑COUNT A suffix is a letter or group of letters, for example '-ly' or '-ness', which is added to the end of a word in order to form a different word, often of a different word class. For example, the suffix '-ly' is added to 'quick' to form 'quickly'. Compare affix and prefix .
2 N‑COUNT A suffix is one or more numbers or letters added to the end of a code number to indicate, for example, what area something belongs to. □ These ships were all numbered with the suffix LBK.
suf|fo|cate /sʌ fəke I t/ (suffocates , suffocating , suffocated )
1 VERB If someone suffocates or is suffocated , they die because there is no air for them to breathe. □ [V ] He either suffocated, or froze to death. □ [be V -ed] They were suffocated as they slept. ● suf|fo|ca|tion /sʌ fəke I ʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT □ Many of the victims died of suffocation.
2 VERB If you say that you are suffocating or that something is suffocating you, you mean that you feel very uncomfortable because there is not enough fresh air and it is difficult to breathe. □ [V ] That's better. I was suffocating in that cell of a room. □ [V n] The airlessness of the room suffocated her.
3 VERB You say that a person or thing is suffocating , or that something is suffocating them, when the situation that they are in does not allow them to act freely or to develop. □ [V ] After a few weeks with her parents, she felt she was suffocating. □ [V n] The governor's proposals would actually cost millions of jobs and suffocate the economy.
suf|frage /sʌ fr I dʒ/ N‑UNCOUNT Suffrage is the right of people to vote for a government or national leader. [FORMAL ] □ …the women's suffrage movement.
suf|fra|gette /sʌ frədʒe t/ (suffragettes ) N‑COUNT In the early twentieth century in Britain, a suffragette was a woman who was involved in the campaign for women to have the right to vote. □ She was a suffragette and a birth control pioneer.
suf|fra|gist /sʌ frədʒ I st/ (suffragists ) N‑COUNT A suffragist is a person who is in favour of women having the right to vote, especially in societies where women are not allowed to vote. [mainly AM ]