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long-suffering

long-suffering

1 7.0
A patient acceptance of pain or trouble for a long time
  • noun
  • /ˈlɔːŋˈsʌfərɪŋ/
translation icon : sufrimiento prolongado
  • And that was that was my long-suffering girlfriend Nadine, who took on every role that was needed.
  • long-suffering wife
  • long-suffering smile
  • long-suffering look

Examples

  • There, long suffering men and women peacefully protested the denial of their rights as Americans.

  • For Hamilton, that was his long-suffering ex-wife, Haven.

    Blog text (26)
  • It was me and in here must have been the the poor old landlord, the long-suffering landlord.

  • A sad, long-suffering smile.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • It's basically a biopic (of extremely doubtful accuracy) of Joan Crawford, from the point of view of her long-suffering daughter.

    Blog text (26)
  • Ruth, known as Ruthless by her long-suffering underlings, was on a rampage trying to locate the missing board members whose presence was necessary for the vote on Saturday.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The furor over Friday's report revealed a political movement that is rooting for American failure, so obsessed with taking down Mr. Obama that good news for the nation's long-suffering workers drives its members into a blind rage.

    Blog text (26)
  • And he felt, suddenly, a sweep of painful gratitude, like the momentary awareness of the presence of grace, which was so intense it caused him to bow his head: gratitude for his accidental entry into this new knowledge, this understanding that had let him see the ways his mother's long-suffering silent goodness had trapped and paralyzed him.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Spokesmen for the long-suffering Coptic Christian population pointed out that on January 6, 2010, security had been withdrawn from a Coptic church in Nag Hammadi shortly before a drive-by shooting.

    Blog text (34)
  • The long-suffering citizens of the town finally received aid after the devastating storm.

Synonyms

endurance
vslong-suffering
77 3.4

Ability to keep doing hard physical or mental work for a long time

stresses patient tolerance as an attitude rather than mere survival ability
stoicism
vslong-suffering
5 7.8

A calm way of accepting pain or hardship without complaint

expresses patient, enduring tolerance while allowing feeling or emotion
sufferance
vslong-suffering
  • Archaic
3 9.1

A patient acceptance of something unpleasant or difficult

focuses on lengthy ongoing tolerance rather than just the ability
long-sufferance
vslong-suffering
9.9

To accept pain or hardship without complaint for a long time

has identical meaning but differs in word form or ending
longanimity
vslong-suffering
  • Formal
9.9

Patient acceptance of trouble or unfair treatment without anger

is steady endurance without the specifically kind or forgiving tone

Antonyms

38 2.5

A feeling of being annoyed and restless when you have to wait

How Patient

stoicism
5 7.8
forbearance
  • Specialized
11 8.4
long-suffering
1 7.0
tolerance
160 3.7
impatience
38 2.5

Surface Forms

Morphology

long-suffering = long + suffering (transparent) = long + suffering

The noun is formed from the same hyphenated compound and directly denotes prolonged endurance of hardship, so its meaning is inferable from the components.

Etymology

Long-suffering is made from the words long and suffering, meaning 'suffering for a long time'. So as a noun, long-suffering is the patient endurance of pain or hardship over many years.