affliction

noun

ə-ˈflik-shən How to pronounce affliction (audio)
Definition of afflictionnext
1
as in distress
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

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2
as in sorrow
deep sadness especially for the loss of someone or something loved felt such great affliction over the destruction of the beautiful old home

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3
as in curse
a source of harm or misfortune alcohol has been his affliction ever since he took his first drink at the age of 12

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4
as in demon
a source of persistent emotional distress suffered from afflictions that only a professional therapist could deal with

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5
as in injury
something that causes loss or pain cronyism and corruption are afflictions on the body politic

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of affliction The penalty shootout is a cursed affliction when the roulette wheel fails you, and that was Arsenal’s fate here. — Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 31 May 2026 They were considered to have strange physical afflictions or weak mental attitudes, and some people with endocrine diseases were even dismissed as ‘freaks’ and heckled in circuses or locked away in institutions. — Literary Hub, 20 May 2026 Fox McCloud has fallen victim to one of the most common afflictions in video game art direction—realism—the anthropomorphic fox and friends risk veering into the uncanny valley. — Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 7 May 2026 Nearly 90 percent of respondents reported injuries or illness on the job — afflictions that spanned heat stroke to exposure to pesticides. — Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 4 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for affliction
Recent Examples of Synonyms for affliction
  1. distress
  2. sorrow
  3. curse
  4. demon
  5. injury
  6. agony
  7. anguish
  8. nemesis
Noun
  • Lewbel said distress detection is no longer a feature of Flock's system, but did not respond to questions about what led to that decision or whether it had ever been used by law enforcement.
    — N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 11 July 2026
  • However, evidence of an ancient alien civilization and a frantic distress call from deep space instantly cut those celebrations short.
    — Paul Brett, Space.com, 10 July 2026
Definition of distress
Noun
  • The clouds begin to part The clouds of grief and sorrow that had enveloped Gounder with the approach of the World Cup were dispersed by the bright orange sun of a New York Knicks championship, the team’s first in 53 years.
    — PJ Green, Kansas City Star, 8 July 2026
  • From shabby apartments to art experiments to filthy needles—with echoes of Patti Smith and Rebecca Makkai—Adler conjures an era of sorrow borne by too many, too young.
    — Hamilton Cain, Time, 7 July 2026
Definition of sorrow
Noun
  • That 2016 film introduced Johnson as demigod Maui alongside Auli’i Cravalho as the titular girl with exceptional navigation skills, with the pair teaming up to stop a curse from targeting her island.
    — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 11 July 2026
  • Everything the man is touching nowadays turns into gold for him and rot for the rest of us, a curse any smart person would avoid.
    — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
Definition of curse
Noun
  • Wynonna, with help from her younger sister, the town’s sheriff and an infamous Wild West gunslinger, must save her hometown from demons and other supernatural creatures.
    — Emily Weaver, PEOPLE, 5 July 2026
  • In the film, Tanjiro, Nezuko and the Hashira are drawn into the Infinity Castle, where the Demon Slayer Corps must confront the terrifying Upper Rank demons.
    — Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 5 July 2026
Definition of demon
Noun
  • But his injury also comes as the Hawks’ roster has had a lot of turnover across the last two years.
    — Lauren Williams, AJC.com, 16 July 2026
  • Debris from the interceptions fell in several locations but no injuries or damage were reported, the Jordanian Armed Forces said, according to the state news agency Petra.
    — Sophia Saifi, CNN Money, 16 July 2026
Definition of injury
Noun
  • For nearly three weeks, 21-year-old Denijah Myers has been missing, and her family is in agony.
    — Francie Ebert, NBC news, 13 July 2026
  • Wells’s parents expressed their own version of that agony at a press conference with Crump on Friday in New York City.
    — Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 13 July 2026
Definition of agony
Noun
  • Andrade said the absence of an official passenger manifest deepened the anguish of dozens of families awaiting the arrival of Flight 164.
    — Sonia Osorio, Miami Herald, 9 July 2026
  • The series depicts the anguish of an interrupted boyhood and the awakening of a child’s conscience as their safest spaces erode.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 8 July 2026
Definition of anguish
Noun
  • The 64-year-old actress, who originally became a household name on the beloved ‘70s show as protagonist Laura Ingalls’ nemesis Nellie Oleson, made a surprise appearance on the Netflix reboot which premiered on Thursday.
    — Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 10 July 2026
  • Golden State is a candidate to sign longtime nemesis LeBron James as an unrestricted free agent.
    — Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 9 July 2026
Definition of nemesis

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afflicting
affliction
afflictions
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Cite this Entry

“Affliction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/affliction. Accessed 18 Jul. 2026.

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