affliction

noun

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af·flic·tion | \ ə-ˈflik-shən

Definition of affliction

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

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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 After a day at the beach (featured last episode), everyone is drinking and suffering from a severe affliction of Elephantiasis of the Jenga. — Brian Moylan, Vulture, "Summer House Season-Finale Recap: ’Til Death Do Us Party," 22 Apr. 2021 One journalist scolded Bantam Books, the publisher of A Brief History of Time, for exploiting Hawking’s affliction by placing a photo of him in his wheelchair on the book’s cover. — Samanth Subramanian, The New Republic, "The Mysteries of Stephen Hawking’s Universe," 6 Apr. 2021 My own recent affliction seems like some combination of the two. — Amanda Mull, The Atlantic, "America Has Pandemic Senioritis," 15 Apr. 2021 Alessandra Ricci’s vision of Pandora, whose origin story includes misogyny but not assault, unleashes swirls of color that symbolize both affliction and transcendence. — Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, "In the galleries: Exhibit upends male-centric myths, legends and folklore," 16 Oct. 2020 The film is stingy with clear answers about the affliction that causes Luna to develop a vicious bite and a taste for flesh. — Erik Piepenburg, New York Times, "Stream These 5 Chilling New Horror Movies," 2 Apr. 2021 Matzo may be known as the bread of affliction, but the Passover meal is a feast. — Bon Appétit, "6 New Passover Recipes From Chefs Who Celebrate," 22 Mar. 2021 Villarreal said the shooting and the subsequent manhunt is the latest symptom of the city's affliction. — Justin L. Mack, The Indianapolis Star, "'The city is sick': Another mass domestic killing rocks Indianapolis as 4 are killed," 14 Mar. 2021 The medical establishment has also given the affliction a new moniker — Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID, or PASC. — Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times, "Cases of ‘Long COVID’ frustrate patients, puzzle scientists," 25 Mar. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'affliction.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.