sub-, suc-, suf-, sug-, sum-, sup-, sur-, sus-, su-

1. Relating to something which gives a brief gist or essence of a concept: Jack had only 5 minutes to give a run-down on his new book, so he gave a succinct account of its plot to the audience at the bookstore.
2. Characterizing a thought, an idea, a view, etc. in clear, precise, and brief expressions using few words; concise and terse: Tim tried to shorten his essay of 15 pages into a succinct version of only 2 pages and avoid all the wordy and drawn-out explanations which were not absolutely necessary.

Little Mary asked her mother for the 5th time if she could watch a crime movie on TV and her mother gave her a succinct, curt, and snappy answer and said, "No!"
3. Etymology: from Latin succinctus, "prepared, ready, contracted, short"; from succingere, "tuck up (clothes for action), gird from below"; from sub, "below" + cingere, "to gird".

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To help or to give relief to someone who is in need of help: Many people in other parts of the country volunteered to succor the victims of the recent tornado.

Some people are convinced that it is the responsibility of everyone to succor those who are in need or "to do for others what we would want others to do for us".

To undergo or to experience unfortunate circumstances; such as, pain, loss, etc.: Mary's aunt suffers significantly from a damaged nerve in her right hand.

The children appeared to be very sad because they suffered the loss of Sammy, their pet gold fish.

Descriptive of an experience or an event that must be accepted and borne as best as one can: In her conversation with her cousin, Helen described the most sufferable experience of her youth, the day she fell into the swimming pool with all of her clothes on when all of her friends were watching.

Descriptive of how a person's conduct can be tolerated or endured, even with difficulty: The doorman's impolite behavior towards Mr. and Mrs. Dawson, when they went into the museum, was sufferably unpleasant.

A process of doing something even when it is allowed to be done by anyone who really doesn't want it to happen: When Jim was permitted by his parents to play his loud music late at night on sufferance, his parents often could not tolerate it for very long; so, before very long, they made him stop and get ready for bed. © ALL rights are reserved.
© ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
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An individual who lives with pain, great discomfort in body or mind, or who is in an unbearable physical condition: The Book of Martyrs is filled with stories of sufferers who died because of what they believed.

Ever since he was born, Jasper has been a sufferer of a physical condition which made it impossible for him to hear anything.

1. Descriptive or characterized by being troubled, unhappy, or in constant pain or discomfort: Zed was often confined to his bed; especially, during hot summer days which were his most suffering times.
2. To experience something that is unpleasant; such as, defeat, destruction, or loss: These days, so many people are facing more suffering conditions because of the wars that are taking place or as a result of terrible weather situations involving flooding or a lack of sufficient rain.

1. To be enough or to be adequate, in quantity or in quality: Mrs. White told her students that only a few examples in their essays would suffice to support their assumptions and opinions.
2. Etymology: from Latin sufficere "to put under, to meet the need of"; from sub-, "under" + facere, "to make". © ALL rights are reserved.

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1. A letter, or group of letters, added to the end of a word or word part to form another term: Suffixes are clearly expressed with such elements as, -ly in "quickly", -ing in "talking", -ness in "gentleness", -ing in "walking", and -s in "sits".

Suffixes are also defined as groups of letters placed at the end of words to modify their meanings or to change them for different grammatical functions; for example, from adjectives to adverbs, etc.

2. Something added to the end of of something else: The suffix of the evening meal at June's birthday party was the singing of "Happy birthday" by the guests.

1. To add a letter, or letters, to the end of a word to form a slightly different meaning: Examples of suffixed parts are -s and -ness as shown in "dogs" and "softness".
2. To include or to attach something to the end of another item: After asking his mother if he could go to the movie with his girlfriend, he made sure to suffix his request with, "please".

The formation of a word with an attachment at the end of a verbal element or word stem: Tommy learned how to use suffixations as he produced new and interesting terms for his short essay; for example, using an ed on some verbs to form past tenses or using ness at the end of some adjectives to form nouns.

Anything that is added to the end of something else: The couple was surprised by the suffixion of a free cup of coffee when they finished their dinner at the restaurant.

An agent that prevents breathing or, in other words, it causes suffocation.