Meaning
suffering
- suffering, pain
- hardship
- financial distress, bad debt
In a sentence
Dopo l'incidente, la sofferenza è durata mesi.
After the accident, the suffering lasted for months.
Il medico fa di tutto per alleviare la sofferenza dei pazienti.
The doctor does everything to relieve the patients' suffering.
La banca ha segnalato una sofferenza sul prestito.
The bank reported a delinquency on the loan.
Word forms (2)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| sofferenza | feminine · singular |
| sofferenze | feminine · plural |
Usage notes
- Usually uncountable: use la sofferenza, molta sofferenza. The plural sofferenze appears when listing hardships, pains, or medical conditions.
- Stronger and broader than dolore: sofferenza can be physical or emotional; dolore often refers more directly to pain or grief.
- In finance, credito in sofferenza is technical banking language for a non-performing or seriously troubled debt, not everyday speech.