Idioms are wonderful phrases that carry hidden meanings different from their literal words. People use them to add color, emotion, and imagery to everyday conversations when describing difficult times. In this guide, you will learn fifty unique idioms centered around suffering and enduring hardship.
In this lesson, we’ll look at idioms that mean going through pain, facing tough struggles, or bearing heavy burdens. Let’s get started and explore some of these helpful expressions.
Idioms for Suffering
1. Bear the brunt
Definition: To receive the main force or worst part of an unpleasant situation or blow.
Used in a Sentence: The oldest tree in the yard had to bear the brunt of the fierce windstorm. / When the budget cuts happened, the art department bore the brunt of the losses.
Similar Expressions: Take the hit / Carry the weight
2. Cross to bear
Definition: A heavy burden, problem, or source of suffering that someone must endure.
Used in a Sentence: Having a bad knee from his soccer injury was a painful cross to bear. / Dealing with constant loud noises next door felt like a heavy cross to bear.
Similar Expressions: Heavy burden / Hard trial
3. Bite the bullet
Definition: To force yourself to endure a painful or difficult situation with courage.
Used in a Sentence: Leo had to bite the bullet and go to the dentist to get his cavity fixed. / We knew cleaning the muddy basement would be awful, so we just bit the bullet.
Similar Expressions: Face the music / Tough it out
4. Thorn in your side
Definition: A persistent source of annoyance, trouble, or ongoing suffering.
Used in a Sentence: That broken front gate has been a constant thorn in our side all year. / Having to memorize long spelling lists felt like a thorn in his side.
Similar Expressions: Constant irritation / Persistent nuisance
5. Walking through fire
Definition: To undergo extreme hardship, testing, or intense emotional suffering.
Used in a Sentence: Passing all those difficult medical exams felt like walking through fire. / She felt like she was walking through fire while trying to recover from her injury.
Similar Expressions: Enduring agony / Severe trial
6. Under the weather
Definition: To feel physically sick, weak, or suffering from a minor illness.
Used in a Sentence: Mia stayed home from school today because she was feeling a bit under the weather. / Dad felt under the weather after catching a bad winter cold.
Similar Expressions: Feeling poorly / Sickly state
7. Bleeding heart
Definition: To feel deep, painful emotional distress and sympathy for the suffering of others.
Used in a Sentence: Grandma has a bleeding heart whenever she sees stray animals shivering outside. / His bleeding heart made him cry during sad commercials about charity work.
Similar Expressions: Overly sympathetic / Deeply distressed
8. Carry a heavy cross
Definition: To endure a long-lasting period of grief, worry, or personal suffering.
Used in a Sentence: Taking care of a sick pet for months meant carrying a heavy cross of worry. / She walked with a quiet dignity while carrying a heavy cross of sorrow.
Similar Expressions: Bear heavy grief / Endure sadness
9. On the rack
Definition: To experience intense mental agony, stress, or psychological suffering.
Used in a Sentence: Waiting for the test results left the anxious student feeling like he was on the rack. / The suspect was on the rack while the detective asked difficult questions.
Similar Expressions: Under intense stress / Tortured mind
10. Bitter pill to swallow
Definition: An unpleasant truth or painful event that causes emotional suffering to accept.
Used in a Sentence: Losing the championship game in the final second was a bitter pill to swallow. / Realizing he could not go on the class trip was a bitter pill for Leo.
Similar Expressions: Painful disappointment / Hard truth
11. Run the gauntlet
Definition: To endure a series of harsh criticisms, trials, or painful challenges.
Used in a Sentence: The nervous actor had to run the gauntlet of flashing cameras on the red carpet. / New students often feel like they are running the gauntlet during the first week.
Similar Expressions: Face harsh trials / Brave opposition
12. Drink from a bitter cup
Definition: To experience a severe share of sorrow, hardship, or emotional pain.
Used in a Sentence: Losing his favorite grandfather meant he had to drink from a bitter cup of grief. / Life can sometimes make you drink from a bitter cup when things go wrong.
Similar Expressions: Taste sorrow / Experience hardship
13. Worn to a frazzle
Definition: To suffer from complete physical and mental exhaustion due to overwork.
Used in a Sentence: After studying all night for three exams, Lily was worn to a frazzle. / Taking care of the puppies left mom worn to a frazzle by evening.
Similar Expressions: Exhausted completely / Drained out
14. Tied to the stake
Definition: To feel trapped, helpless, and subjected to harsh criticism or suffering.
Used in a Sentence: Standing in front of the whole school to apologize made him feel tied to the stake. / The accused student felt tied to the stake during the disciplinary meeting.
Similar Expressions: Trapped and helpless / Exposed to attack
15. Catch a Tartar
Definition: To unexpectedly encounter a person or situation that causes painful trouble.
Used in a Sentence: The bully tried to tease the quiet boy, but he caught a Tartar when the boy reported him. / When we tried fixing the old engine, we caught a Tartar of a problem.
Similar Expressions: Meet fierce trouble / Face tough opposition
16. In the depths of despair
Definition: To suffer from a profound and overwhelming sense of hopelessness.
Used in a Sentence: After losing his sketchbook, Leo was in the depths of despair for hours. / Rainy days can sometimes throw people into the depths of despair.
Similar Expressions: Utterly hopeless / Deep misery
17. Feel the pinch
Definition: To suffer from sudden financial hardship or a lack of resources.
Used in a Sentence: When food prices rose, many local families began to feel the pinch. / Saving money became necessary after our household started to feel the pinch.
Similar Expressions: Experience hardship / Tighten belts
18. Weather the storm
Definition: To endure a harsh period of trouble or suffering until conditions improve.
Used in a Sentence: The small family shop managed to weather the storm of economic trouble. / With patience, we can weather the storm of these difficult homework weeks.
Similar Expressions: Ride it out / Survive hardship
19. Suffer in silence
Definition: To keep your pain, sorrow, or physical discomfort hidden from others.
Used in a Sentence: Instead of complaining about his toothache, Sam chose to suffer in silence. / She kept her worries to herself and chose to suffer in silence.
Similar Expressions: Hide pain / Bear quietly
20. Put through the wringer
Definition: To subject someone to severe emotional stress, testing, or hardship.
Used in a Sentence: The difficult questioning by the coach put the team through the wringer. / Moving to a brand-new school put her through the wringer of anxiety.
Similar Expressions: Severely tested / Put through hell
21. Pull out all the stops
Definition: To endure extreme physical strain or effort to relieve someone’s suffering.
Used in a Sentence: The doctors pulled out all the stops to help the injured wildlife. / We pulled out all the stops to finish cleaning before the guests arrived.
Similar Expressions: Give maximum effort / Try everything
22. In hot water
Definition: To suffer the uncomfortable consequences of making a bad mistake.
Used in a Sentence: Breaking the classroom window put Max in hot water with the principal. / If you forget your homework again, you will be in hot water.
Similar Expressions: In trouble / Facing penalties
23. Carry the weight of the world
Definition: To suffer under an overwhelming burden of responsibility and worry.
Used in a Sentence: The team captain walked around like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. / Do not let minor chores make you feel like you carry the weight of the world.
Similar Expressions: Overburdened / Extremely stressed
24. Go through fire and water
Definition: To endure extreme danger, pain, or suffering for a good cause.
Used in a Sentence: The loyal friends promised to go through fire and water for each other. / Explorers often go through fire and water to discover new places.
Similar Expressions: Endure anything / Brave all dangers
25. Take it on the chin
Definition: To bravely accept a painful blow, misfortune, or failure without crying.
Used in a Sentence: Even though his painting lost the contest, Leo took it on the chin and smiled. / When the team lost, they took it on the chin and promised to practice harder.
Similar Expressions: Accept punishment / Face adversity
26. Wrung out
Definition: To feel completely drained of energy and emotionally exhausted from suffering.
Used in a Sentence: After crying over the sad movie, her eyes felt dry and she was completely wrung out. / The long week of testing left the students feeling wrung out.
Similar Expressions: Drained and tired / Emotionally exhausted
27. Hard knocks
Definition: To suffer through difficult life experiences and harsh lessons.
Used in a Sentence: Learning how to fix broken bicycles taught him through the school of hard knocks. / Life’s hard knocks made him a much stronger and wiser person.
Similar Expressions: Difficult lessons / Harsh experience
28. Walking on hot coals
Definition: To endure a deeply painful, stressful, or agonizing situation.
Used in a Sentence: Waiting for the disciplinary meeting felt like walking on hot coals. / Explaining the broken vase to mom felt like walking on hot coals.
Similar Expressions: Agonizing trial / Stressful ordeal
29. Tear your hair out
Definition: To suffer extreme frustration, stress, and mental agony over a problem.
Used in a Sentence: Trying to solve the confusing math riddle made Dad want to tear his hair out. / The noisy construction outside made the students feel like tearing their hair out.
Similar Expressions: Stressed beyond belief / Frantic with worry
30. Eat your heart out
Definition: To suffer silently from extreme jealousy, grief, or unrequited longing.
Used in a Sentence: He spent days eating his heart out over losing the class election. / Do not sit around eating your heart out; go out and make new friends.
Similar Expressions: Pine away / Consume with grief
31. Put through the mill
Definition: To experience a harsh training or a painful series of difficult trials.
Used in a Sentence: The new recruits were put through the mill during basic obstacle training. / Fixing up the old house put our patience through the mill.
Similar Expressions: Heavily tested / Harshly trained
32. At the end of your rope
Definition: To have no patience, strength, or ability left to endure more suffering.
Used in a Sentence: After working twelve hours straight, mom was at the end of her rope. / The noisy children pushed the babysitter right to the end of her rope.
Similar Expressions: Out of patience / Completely drained
33. Bleed for something
Definition: To suffer greatly, sacrifice, and work endlessly for a difficult goal.
Used in a Sentence: The athletes had to bleed for every victory they earned this season. / Writing a novel requires you to bleed for every single page.
Similar Expressions: Sacrifice deeply / Endure pain for a goal
34. Catch it in the neck
Definition: To suffer a severe scolding, punishment, or penalty for a mistake.
Used in a Sentence: If mom finds out we tracked mud on the rug, we will catch it in the neck. / The lazy worker caught it in the neck from the angry manager.
Similar Expressions: Get punished / Face severe blame
35. Up to your neck
Definition: To suffer from being overwhelmed by too many problems or tasks.
Used in a Sentence: During final exam week, we were up to our necks in studying. / Dad was up to his neck in paperwork all weekend long.
Similar Expressions: Overwhelmed / Buried in work
36. Sink or swim
Definition: To suffer through a trial where you either succeed alone or fail painfully.
Used in a Sentence: In high school science projects, students are left to sink or swim. / Starting a business without guidance is a true sink or swim ordeal.
Similar Expressions: Make or break / Total trial
37. Take a beating
Definition: To suffer heavy physical damage, financial loss, or a brutal defeat.
Used in a Sentence: Our soccer team took a beating during the match against the champions. / The old car took a beating on the bumpy dirt road.
Similar Expressions: Suffer heavy damage / Take a hit
38. Pay the piper
Definition: To suffer the unavoidable negative consequences of past mistakes or actions.
Used in a Sentence: Ignoring your chores all week means you will have to pay the piper on Saturday. / If you cheat on tests, eventually you have to pay the piper.
Similar Expressions: Face consequences / Face the music
39. Go through the motions
Definition: To suffer through a boring or painful task without any emotional interest.
Used in a Sentence: Feeling sick and tired, he just went through the motions at soccer practice. / She was too sad to care, so she simply went through the motions of cleaning.
Similar Expressions: Act mechanically / Do bare minimum
40. Cross to carry
Definition: An ongoing personal trial or source of silent suffering in life.
Used in a Sentence: Having a severe allergy to chocolate felt like a sad cross to carry for the kid. / Dealing with chronic shyness was a difficult cross to carry.
Similar Expressions: Personal burden / Silent trial
41. Run aground
Definition: To suffer a sudden, painful halt or failure in a project or journey.
Used in a Sentence: Our exciting plan for the clubhouse ran aground when we lost our funding. / The negotiation ran aground over disagreement about the budget.
Similar Expressions: Hit a snag / Stall out
42. Face the music
Definition: To bravely accept the unpleasant consequences of suffering caused by a mistake.
Used in a Sentence: After breaking the lamp, Sam had to face the music and tell his parents. / When caught breaking the rule, you must face the music.
Similar Expressions: Accept reality / Take responsibility
43. Grind down
Definition: To wear someone out slowly through continuous hardship, stress, or pressure.
Used in a Sentence: The constant pressure of daily tests began to grind down the students. / Financial worries can grind down even the most optimistic people.
Similar Expressions: Wear away / Exhaust slowly
44. Walk through the valley of the shadow
Definition: To endure a terrifying period of danger, illness, or deep suffering.
Used in a Sentence: Recovering from major surgery felt like walking through the valley of the shadow. / The soldiers felt they were walking through the valley of the shadow during the conflict.
Similar Expressions: Extreme peril / Terrifying ordeal
45. In the wars
Definition: To suffer minor injuries, cuts, or bruises from rough play or accidents.
Used in a Sentence: Look at your scraped knees; you look like you have been in the wars today. / The toy truck came out of the sandbox looking like it had been in the wars.
Similar Expressions: Battered and bruised / Rough treatment
46. Under the hammer
Definition: To suffer the loss of possessions sold off due to financial ruin.
Used in a Sentence: When the farm went bankrupt, all their equipment went under the hammer. / The struggling business watched its assets go under the hammer.
Similar Expressions: Sold off / Auctioned away
47. Feel the burn
Definition: To experience the physical pain and muscle suffering of hard exercise.
Used in a Sentence: Lifting heavy weights at the gym made his arms feel the burn. / Push through the last lap of the race and feel the burn!
Similar Expressions: Muscle strain / Physical exertion
48. Hang by a thread
Definition: To suffer in a precarious and dangerous state of near failure.
Used in a Sentence: The injured climber’s safety harness was hanging by a thread. / Our chances of winning the game were hanging by a thread in the final minute.
Similar Expressions: In deep peril / Barely surviving
49. Go down in flames
Definition: To suffer a massive, public, and spectacular failure after trying hard.
Used in a Sentence: My attempt at baking a three-tier cake went down in flames when it collapsed. / The poorly planned school play went down in flames on opening night.
Similar Expressions: Crash and burn / Spectacular failure
50. Bite the dust
Definition: To suffer a complete collapse, ruin, or defeat during a task.
Used in a Sentence: The old wooden shed bit the dust after the heavy winter snowstorm. / Our favorite basketball team bit the dust in the final seconds.
Similar Expressions: Take a fall / Total failure
Exercise to Practice
- When the oldest tree in the yard had to bear the main force of the windstorm, it bore the brunt.
- Having a bad knee from his soccer injury was a painful cross to bear.
- Sleeping all day before a big test is a great way to bite the bullet.
- That broken front gate has been a constant thorn in our side all year.
- Walking through fire means you are relaxing on a sunny beach with no worries.
- Mia stayed home from school today because she was feeling a bit under the weather.
- Grandma has a bleeding heart whenever she sees stray animals shivering outside.
- Planting the seeds for a project means you are worn to a frazzle from studying.
- Waiting for the test results left the student feeling like he was on the rack.
- Losing the championship game in the final second was a bitter pill to swallow.
- The nervous actor had to run the gauntlet of flashing cameras on the red carpet.
- Clearing the decks means you are drinking from a bitter cup of grief.
- After studying all night for three exams, Lily was worn to a frazzle.
- Standing in front of the whole school to apologize made him feel tied to the stake.
- Getting a project off the ground means you are in the depths of despair.
Answer Key
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Conclusion
Learning these idioms helps you talk about difficult times, pain, and endurance in expressive ways. It also makes your writing and speaking sound much more natural to native English speakers.
Try using a few of these expressions the next time you face a tough challenge or an exhausting school week. You will see how much more engaging your stories become!
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some common idioms for suffering?
Popular examples include biting the bullet for enduring hardship, bearing the brunt for taking the worst of a blow, and feeling under the weather for sickness. These phrases add vivid imagery to discussions about difficult times.
Why do we use idioms to describe difficult experiences?
Idioms give us creative ways to express complex emotional pain and physical trials that plain words cannot fully capture. They make our speech more relatable, colorful, and expressive.
How can I remember these idioms about hardship easily?
Linking each idiom to a personal memory of overcoming a tough task or drawing a quick picture of it helps lock the meaning in your brain. Practicing with matching games and true or false quizzes also makes them stick.
Are these idioms suitable for school writing?
Yes, using descriptive idioms in creative writing stories makes your characters’ struggles feel real and engaging to readers. Just keep them out of strict factual reports.
Can idioms describe both physical and emotional suffering?
Idioms cover a wide range of human experiences, ranging from physical ailments like feeling under the weather to emotional trials like being in the depths of despair.
