affliction

1 a state of great suffering of body or mind <she listened with deep affliction as her daughter told her about the latest trouble she was in> Synonyms distress, agony, anguish, excruciation, hurt, misery, pain, rack, strait(s), torment, torture, travail, tribulation, woeRelated Words discomfort; cross, crucible, trial; heartache, heartbreak, joylessness, sadness, sorrow, unhappiness; emergency, pinch; asperity, difficulty, hardship, rigor; ache, pang, smarting, soreness, stitch, throe, twinge; danger, jeopardy, troubleNear Antonyms comfort, consolation, solace; alleviation, assuagement, ease, relief; peace, security; well-being

2 deep sadness especially for the loss of someone or something loved <felt such great affliction over the destruction of the beautiful old home> Synonyms sorrow, anguish, dolefulness, dolor, grief, heartache, heartbreak, sorriness, woeRelated Words agony, distress, pain, suffering, torment; blue devils, blues, dejection, depression, desolateness, desolation, despair, despondence, despondency, disconsolateness, dispiritedness, distress, doldrums, downheartedness, dreariness, dumps, forlornness, gloom, gloominess, glumness, heartsickness, joylessness, melancholy, miserableness, misery, mopes, oppression, sorrowfulness, unhappiness, woefulness, wretchedness; contrition, guilt, regret, remorse, rue, self-reproach, shame; melancholia, self-pityNear Antonyms gaiety (also gayety), gayness, humor, jollity, joviality, lightheartedness, merriment, merrymaking, mirth, mirthfulness; hopefulness, optimism, sunniness; enjoyment; content, contentedness, contentmentAntonyms blessedness, bliss, blissfulness, cheer, cheerfulness, cheeriness, delight, ecstasy, elatedness, elation, euphoria, exhilaration, exuberance, exultation, felicity, gladness, gladsomeness, glee, gleefulness, happiness, joy, joyfulness, joyousness, jubilation, pleasure, rapture, rapturousness

3 a source of harm or misfortune <alcohol has been his affliction ever since he took his first drink at the age of 12> Synonyms bane, curse, nemesis, scourgeRelated Words hex, hoodoo, jinx; danger, hazard, menace, peril, risk, threat, trouble; booby trap, catch, pitfall, snagNear Antonyms advantage, aid, assistance, gift, help, relief, support; comfort, consolation, solace; delight, joy, pleasure; armor, defense, guard, protection, safeguard, safety, security, shieldAntonyms benefit, blessing, boon, felicity, godsend, good, manna, windfall

4 a source of persistent emotional distress <suffered from afflictions that only a professional therapist could deal with> Synonyms demon, hang-up, terror, tormentRelated Words bête noire, bogey (also bogie or bogy), bugaboo, bugbear, hobgoblin, ogre

5 something that causes loss or pain <cronyism and corruption are afflictions on the body politic> Synonyms injury, damage, detriment, harm, hurtRelated Words disservice, injustice, outrage, wrong; affront, dart, indignity, insult, offense (or offence); beating, crippling, mayhem, mutilation; defacement, disability, disablement, disfigurement, impairment; lesion; rupture, strain; abrasion, chafe, scrape, scratch; boo-boo, bruise, contusion, swelling, wound; bump, concussion; cut, gash, laceration; burn, scald, scar, scathe, searNear Antonyms healing, recovery; cure, fix, remedy