Synonyms of sufferance

sufferance

noun

ˈsə-f(ə-)rən(t)s 

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

• permission
• authorization
• consent
• granting
• permit
• sanction
• allowance
• license
• clearance
• warrant
• concurrence
• signature
• leave
• green light
• accreditation
• grant
• seal
• tolerance
• liberty
• certification
• acceptance
• agreement
• stamp
• acquiescence
• assent
• toleration
• concession
• patent
• imprimatur
• pass
• OK
• accord

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• denial
• prohibition
• refusal
• rejection
• revocation
• injunction
• suppression
• exclusion
• veto
• proscription
• repression
• interdiction
• deterrence
• taboo
• ban
• embargo
• discouragement

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• patience
• tolerance
• forbearance
• acquiescence
• long-suffering
• willingness
• subordination
• resignation
• discipline
• passivity
• docility
• obedience
• compliance
• passiveness
• submission
• tractability
• conformism
• submissiveness
• amenability
• self-control

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• impatience
• defiance
• resistance
• disobedience
• insubordination
• willfulness
• recalcitrance
• intractability
• contrariness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of sufferance

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

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

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