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
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
In the Nikola Jokic era of the Denver Nuggets, one of the team’s perennial afflictions has been a consistently poor performance by their bench relative to the rest of the NBA.
—
Joel Rush, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
We are told to find consolation in the creative and prolific souls who share the affliction: the Brontës, Baudelaire, Kafka, Proust, Nabokov.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025
The character was meant to be a nod to the friend that the Whannell family lost, while creating an early parallel to the affliction that Blake suffers upon his return home in 2025.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Jan. 2025
The special episode will reveal a chilling pattern of violence that began in Hernandez’s youth and carried throughout his football career and his affliction with a severe case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 5 Dec. 2024
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Joel Rush, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
We are told to find consolation in the creative and prolific souls who share the affliction: the Brontës, Baudelaire, Kafka, Proust, Nabokov.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025
The character was meant to be a nod to the friend that the Whannell family lost, while creating an early parallel to the affliction that Blake suffers upon his return home in 2025.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Jan. 2025
The special episode will reveal a chilling pattern of violence that began in Hernandez’s youth and carried throughout his football career and his affliction with a severe case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 5 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for affliction
Dictionary Entries Near affliction
Cite this Entry
“Affliction.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/affliction. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
affliction
noun
af·flic·tion
ə-ˈflik-shən
1
: the state of being afflicted
2
: something that causes pain or unhappiness
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