0%

on sufferance

on suf·fer·ance
O o

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [on, awn suhf-er-uh ns, suhf-ruh ns]
    • /ɒn, ɔn ˈsʌf ər əns, ˈsʌf rəns/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [on, awn suhf-er-uh ns, suhf-ruh ns]
    • /ɒn, ɔn ˈsʌf ər əns, ˈsʌf rəns/

Definitions of on sufferance words

  • noun on sufferance passive permission resulting from lack of interference; tolerance, especially of something wrong or illegal (usually preceded by on or by). 1
  • noun on sufferance capacity to endure pain, hardship, etc.; endurance. 1
  • noun on sufferance Archaic. suffering; misery. 1
  • noun on sufferance Archaic. patient endurance. 1
  • noun on sufferance with reluctance 0
  • noun on sufferance allowed or tolerated but not supported or encouraged 0
See all 6 definitions of on sufferance

Information block about the term

Origin of on sufferance

First appearance:

before 1250
One of the 11% oldest English words
1250-1300; Middle English suffrance < Old French soufrance, < Late Latin sufferentia, equivalent to suffer(re) to suffer + -entia -ence, -ance

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for On sufferance

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Full grammatical hierarchy of On sufferance

on sufferance popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 61% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

on sufferance usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

See also

Matching words

Was this page helpful?
Yes No
Thank you for your feedback! Tell your friends about this page
Tell us why?