1
as in distresses
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 & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in curses
a source of harm or misfortune
alcohol has been his affliction ever since he took his first drink at the age of 12
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in demons
a source of persistent emotional distress
suffered from afflictions that only a professional therapist could deal with
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in injuries
something that causes loss or pain
cronyism and corruption are afflictions on the body politic
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 afflictions
None of these afflictions are exclusive to older moms, but age is a big factor in how serious both are.
—
Heather Grossmann, Parents, 11 Mar. 2026
Ancient foes Lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis are centuries-old afflictions.
—Philip Budge, The Conversation, 5 Mar. 2026
And then, these afflictions can lead to a life-or-death struggle.
—Jayme Moye, Outside, 5 Mar. 2026
According to Champ, a glass mosaic will suffer from these afflictions with the double whammy of making your kitchen also appear outdated.
—Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 25 Feb. 2026
Harsh planetary afflictions give couples a goal to work towards, keeping the dynamic interesting.
—Lisa Stardust, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2026
Jokic can be notoriously stubborn about playing through minor afflictions, but his stats on Friday backed up his postgame testimony that his knee felt good.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 31 Jan. 2026
Leading the list of afflictions are unprecedented levels of loneliness, depression, and cognitive decline.
—Tristan Bove, Fortune, 29 Jan. 2026
Ben-Adir and Morgan bring a raw and layered energy to the dynamic between their characters, and while the relationship between them thaws and complicates along a very predictable trajectory, progressive brain afflictions don’t exactly lend themselves to novelty or surprises.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 25 Jan. 2026
Heather Grossmann, Parents, 11 Mar. 2026
Ancient foes Lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis are centuries-old afflictions.
—Philip Budge, The Conversation, 5 Mar. 2026
And then, these afflictions can lead to a life-or-death struggle.
—Jayme Moye, Outside, 5 Mar. 2026
According to Champ, a glass mosaic will suffer from these afflictions with the double whammy of making your kitchen also appear outdated.
—Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 25 Feb. 2026
Harsh planetary afflictions give couples a goal to work towards, keeping the dynamic interesting.
—Lisa Stardust, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2026
Jokic can be notoriously stubborn about playing through minor afflictions, but his stats on Friday backed up his postgame testimony that his knee felt good.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 31 Jan. 2026
Leading the list of afflictions are unprecedented levels of loneliness, depression, and cognitive decline.
—Tristan Bove, Fortune, 29 Jan. 2026
Ben-Adir and Morgan bring a raw and layered energy to the dynamic between their characters, and while the relationship between them thaws and complicates along a very predictable trajectory, progressive brain afflictions don’t exactly lend themselves to novelty or surprises.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 25 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for afflictions
Noun
-
Pay multiple people from the crafts site Etsy to perform tarot readings, lift any existing curses and otherwise engage in witchcraft.—
Tyler Estep,
AJC.com,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Indeed, various curses and slurs could be heard shouted from the audience at London's Royal Festival Hall, even during some segments broadcast to audiences in England and abroad.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Together, the two men battle the forces of evil, each other, and their own demons on the path to salvation.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
11 Mar. 2026
-
The hottest mess in this brood, at least from outward appearances, is Josh (Thomas Sadoski), a firefighter battling demons, pills and booze.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Investigators rendered first aid at the scene, and Parker was transported to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries, Madden said.—
Caroline Zimmerman,
Kansas City Star,
17 Mar. 2026
-
In a season full of disappointing results, injuries, trades and more, it’s been Marshall that has been Dallas’ bright spot alongside Cooper Flagg.—
Nate Sanchez,
Dallas Morning News,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Paktyawal began complaining of shortness of breath and chest pains while being held in a holding room at the Dallas ICE field office on Friday evening and was taken to the hospital to receive breathing treatment, the agency said.—
Aarón Torres,
Dallas Morning News,
15 Mar. 2026
-
The agency, in the years since, has taken pains to culturally move away from that attitude in favor of an approach that sees STAR as a standalone response option on equal footing with police, firefighters and paramedics.—
Shelly Bradbury,
Denver Post,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
By processing large volumes of data quickly, AI can help determine which drones represent actual threats and which might be acting as decoys within a swarm.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Mar. 2026
-
But Malema was convicted of hate speech for making threats last year, and his party won less than ten per cent of the national vote in the most recent South African election—hardly a ringing endorsement of his ideas.—
Boyce Upholt,
New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Film will ultimately survive as a medium even in the face of overwhelming terrors.—
Angelica Jade Bastién,
Vulture,
9 Mar. 2026
-
What could be worse than these twin terrors?—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Musk is seeking as much as $134 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft — a staggering amount, that if awarded, would be one of the largest verdicts in history.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
18 Mar. 2026
-
Her experience appears to be increasingly rare, as the Russian business newspaper Kommersant estimated in a report last week that just five days of outages caused 3 billion to 5 billion rubles ($37 million to $62 million) in damages to Moscow businesses.—
Yuliya Talmazan,
NBC news,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Hadi’s exceptional attention gives cinematic identity to collective artisanal energy, to the life force of care and devotion that stands outside the agonies of politics, to the spirit that endures a regime and outlives it.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Afflictions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/afflictions. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
