sufferance

[ suhf-er-uhns, suhf-ruhns ]

noun

1. passive permission resulting from lack of interference; tolerance, especially of something wrong or illegal (usually preceded by on or by ).
2. capacity to endure pain, hardship, etc.; endurance.
3. Archaic. suffering; suffering; misery.
4. Archaic. patient endurance.

sufferance

/ ˈsʌfərəns; ˈsʌfrəns /

noun

1. tolerance arising from failure to prohibit; tacit permission
2. capacity to endure pain, injury, etc
3. the state or condition of suffering
4. archaic.
   patient endurance
5. on sufferance
   with reluctance

Other Words From

• non·suf·fer·ance noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sufferance¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English sufferaunce, sufferanse, from Old French so(u)france, from Late Latin sufferentia, equivalent to suffer(re) to suffer + -entia -ence, -ance

Word History and Origins

Origin of sufferance¹

C13: via Old French from Late Latin sufferentia endurance, from Latin sufferre to suffer

Example Sentences

Perhaps for some—the intrepid and legendary explorers and today's possessed polar workers — the inexplicable pull of the pole stems from the sufferance of a magnetic drive.

From Salon

“He owns them absolutely. He crushed them and they exist only by his sufferance,” said Fried.

From Seattle Times

“He’s caught between the reality that he knows and understands and the perspectives and desires and agendas of the owners at whose sufferance he serves,” Edwards said.

From Washington Post

It is a story about who gets to go where, who gets to exist safely in public, and who is only there on sufferance.

From Washington Post

“The message they are getting is, ‘You are here on sufferance,’” he added.

From New York Times

Related Words

• ability
• capacity
• courage
• fortitude
• grit
• mettle
• patience
• perseverance
• persistence
• stamina
• strength
• tenacity
• tolerance
• vitality