1
as in permission
the approval by someone in authority for the doing of something
was pointedly reminded that he was at the private beach on sufferance and could be kicked out at any time
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in patience
the capacity to endure what is difficult or disagreeable without complaining
spending a whole day with my airheaded sister-in-law is beyond sufferance
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sufferance
And Stewart, who is not, now works at their sufferance.
—
David Remnick, New Yorker, 31 Oct. 2025
Such has been the patient sufferance of the women under this government, and such is now the necessity which constrains them to demand the equal station to which they are entitled.
—Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 26 Sep. 2025
Matchday was a sufferance, the opposite of life-affirming.
—George Caulkin, The Athletic, 10 July 2024
Through his cult of personality, Modi is fulfilling a century-old project, recasting India as a Hindu nation, in which minorities, particularly Muslims, live at the sufferance of the majority.
—Samanth Subramanian Vikas Adam Tanya Pérez Zachary Mouton, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2024
Every page is alive with animus, ardor, humor, sufferance, with venom for death and its posturing acolytes:
Anyone who has not killed is not a man: This sentence, which Hemingway fashioned, means nothing at all.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 30 Mar. 2024
The Kirk Douglas, the smallest of the company’s three venues and ostensibly the most experimental, is the scrappy Culver City orphan, living at the sufferance of its older siblings at L.A.’s Music Center.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2023
Air India’s nationalization signaled that in independent India private enterprise would survive on the government’s sufferance.
—Sadanand Dhume, WSJ, 14 Oct. 2021
In the music of Beethoven, there is such an ethical, moral integrity … and power and sufferance.
—Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, 10 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sufferance
Noun
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Hunt 0234 is valid on private and public lands in the Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula, but private only in the southern Lower Peninsula, as well as Fort Custer military lands, with permission.—
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At oral arguments, the justices expressed scepticism that the White House has the power to impose taxes on trade without the permission of Congress under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).—
Noun
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These days, no one affords anyone patience.—
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Zeoli noted that when working confidentially with a business, there must be patience and discretion used.—
Noun
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There is a legal authorization for the use of force, which is what makes this so different than the use of the military force against Venezuela or Greenland or Cuba or wherever the president wants to take us to war next.—
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Notably, the company has a $1 billion buyback authorization with no end date.—
Noun
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Poyer, who was one of McDermott’s first acquisitions with the Bills and has been with him every season since except 2024, says his coach has more tolerance now than in his early days as a head coach.—
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In this city famous for its tolerance, culture, and understated Dutch cool, romance is always in the air.—
Noun
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While proponents of wearable technology in prisons and jails have described it as potentially lifesaving, privacy rights groups and even law enforcement officials say the devices can raise ethical and legal concerns and urge agencies to establish strict rules on data use, retention and consent.—
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Other information about the winner is released only with the winner's consent.—
Noun
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Figure’s business centers around putting mortgages on the blockchain, which the company says speeds up the granting and funding of home loans.—
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The last one standing is rewarded with a financial windfall and the granting of a single wish, any wish.—
Cite this Entry
“Sufferance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sufferance. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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