Usage Note
Sofferente is the present participle of soffrire (to suffer), used as an adjective meaning in a state of pain or distress. It is invariable for gender (il paziente sofferente / la paziente sofferente) but takes the plural ending -i (i pazienti sofferenti). It can describe physical or emotional pain. Not to be confused with paziente (patient, as in tolerant), which is a different word.
Examples
"Il bambino era sofferente per il mal di testa."
Natural Translation
The child was in pain from the headache.

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