Basic Details
Word: Suffered
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: The past tense of suffer: felt pain, illness or sadness, or went through something unpleasant. It can also mean became worse, as when crops suffer in a drought.
Synonyms: endured, underwent, bore
Antonyms: thrived, flourished
How to Spell Suffered
Syllables: suf - fered
Tricky part: Double f, but a single r before ed. The stress is on suf, so the r is not doubled (sufferred is wrong).
Watch out for: sufferred, sufered, suffred
Memory tip: Words like offer and differ, stressed at the start, never double the r: offered, differed, suffered.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Many families suffered when the river flooded in July.
Example 2: He suffered a sprained ankle in the first match of the season.
Example 3: Her marks suffered because she missed two weeks of school.
Fun Fact
Suffer comes from the Latin sufferre, made of sub, under, and ferre, to carry, so it first meant to carry a load from underneath.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
sufferred
a) r
b) d
c) f
d) e
Show answer
a) r. Suffer is stressed on its first part, so the r stays single before ed.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word suffered as it is used in the sentence:
The crops suffered badly during the long dry spell last summer.
a) declined
b) thrived
c) weakened
d) withered
Show answer
b) thrived. Only thrived turns the sentence around: crops that thrived did very well.
Spell-o-Spell
Read the four words. Choose the meaning of the only correctly spelt word:
1. suffered 2. perservered 3. tolarated 4. strugled
a) tried very hard to do something difficult
b) went through pain or something unpleasant
c) allowed something unpleasant without complaining
d) kept trying in spite of difficulties
Show answer
b) went through pain or something unpleasant. Tolerated has an e after the l, struggled a double g, and persevered has no r between se and v.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which sentence uses suffered in the sense of became worse?
a) She suffered a cold.
b) His handwriting suffered when he rushed.
c) They suffered in the heat.
d) He suffered a fall.
Show answer
b) His handwriting suffered when he rushed.
2. Choose the best ending: The village suffered ____.
a) a good harvest
b) a severe water shortage
c) a pleasant breeze
d) a happy festival
Show answer
b) a severe water shortage
