affliction

noun

af·​flic·​tion ə-ˈflik-shən 

1

: a cause of persistent pain or distress

a mysterious affliction

2

: great suffering

felt empathy with their affliction

3

: the state of being afflicted by something that causes suffering

her affliction with polio

Synonyms

• agony
• anguish
• distress
• excruciation
• hurt
• misery
• pain
• rack
• strait(s)
• torment
• torture
• travail
• tribulation
• woe

Examples of affliction in a Sentence

She lost her sight and is now learning to live with her affliction.

He died from a mysterious affliction.

Recent Examples on the Web

These weaknesses in the regional office market are a reminder that some segments of the Bay Area economy have begun to erode due to the economic afflictions that the coronavirus has unleashed. —George Avalos, The Mercury News, 11 June 2024

What the science says The lack of evidence holds true for virtually all eye conditions and diseases, including common afflictions such as myopia, or nearsightedness, which refers to when closer objects are clear, but distant objects are blurry. —Benjamin Botsford, CNN, 10 June 2024

Those afflictions were, in fact, included in that sizable account, but along with such marginal outcomes was also a reference to more serious possible consequences. —Irv Erdos, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 June 2024

And then broad chaos in the global supply chain helped deliver another economic affliction: inflation. —Peter S. Goodman, New York Times, 2 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English affliccioun "misery, distress, self-inflicted pain," borrowed from Anglo-French afflicion, borrowed from Late Latin afflīctiōn-, afflīctiō, from Latin afflīgere "to afflict" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Kids Definition

affliction

noun

af·​flic·​tion ə-ˈflik-shən 

1

: the state of being afflicted

2

: something that causes pain or unhappiness