affliction
Americannoun
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a state of pain, distress, or grief; misery.
They sympathized with us in our affliction.
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a cause of mental or bodily pain, as sickness, loss, calamity, or persecution.
- Synonyms:
- disaster, catastrophe, calamity, tribulation, trouble, mishap
noun
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a condition of great distress, pain, or suffering
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something responsible for physical or mental suffering, such as a disease, grief, etc
Usage
What is affliction? Affliction refers to a negative state that could include pain, suffering, or grief, as in The servants watched over the manor while the duke was in a state of affliction following his son’s death.Affliction can also refer to something that causes mental or bodily pain, such as disease or misfortune, as in The captain was bedridden due to a mysterious affliction that the doctor couldn’t identify. Affliction is used similarly to words like adversity, misfortune, and trial, which also describe things that cause suffering or pain. Unlike these words, though, affliction is often used to describe something specifically forced on a person that causes serious emotional effects in addition to other suffering.Example: The man lost his hearing during the accident but has since learned to live with his affliction.
Related Words
Affliction, adversity, misfortune, trial refer to an event or circumstance that is hard to bear. A misfortune is any adverse or unfavorable occurrence: He had the misfortune to break his leg. Affliction suggests not only a serious misfortune but the emotional effect of this: Blindness is an affliction. Adversity suggests a calamity or distress: Job remained patient despite all his adversities. Trial emphasizes the testing of one's character in undergoing misfortunes, trouble, etc.: His son's conduct was a great trial to him.
Other Word Forms
- afflictionless adjective
- overaffliction noun
- preaffliction noun
Etymology
Origin of affliction
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English affliccioun, from Latin afflīctiōn-, stem of afflīctiō; equivalent to afflict + -ion
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But lately, it is drawing attention for those drugs’ success at clearing a more familiar affliction: acne.
From Barron's • Feb. 3, 2026
For Belichick, they say, it's part love of the game, part love for coaching, and part an affliction that has ailed many great sports figures: an inability to know when to say goodbye.
From BBC • Jan. 28, 2026
The inability to comprehend the significance of big numbers is a human affliction.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 19, 2025
Tseng went more than a decade without winning a tournament as she struggled through injuries, mechanical problems, and the one affliction no golfer would wish on their worst enemy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 29, 2025
His affliction, whatever it was called, hadn’t prevented Finn from helping Roza when she had needed him.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
