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 of affliction

• distress
• agony
• misery
• pain
• anguish
• discomfort

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

But those maladies have nothing against the ones presented in this list—six afflictions that many of us have come to know all too well. —Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026

The internet has come up with several remedies for this particular affliction. —Noel Cymone Walker, StyleCaster, 1 Apr. 2026

Deprived of the Sun, Australians acquire afflictions more commonly associated with northern Scandinavia, like vitamin D deficiencies and seasonal affective disorder, only all year-round. —Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026

Chibale knew that this wasn't the case in Africa, a continent that struggles with its own afflictions, alongside limited funding, infrastructure and technical know-how. —Ari Daniel, NPR, 22 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English affliccioun "misery, distress, self-inflicted pain," borrowed from Anglo-French afflicion, borrowed from Late Latin afflīctiōn-, afflīctiō, from Latin afflīgere "to afflict" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for affliction

• addiction
• constriction
• conviction
• depiction
• eviction
• infliction
• nonfiction
• prediction
• restriction
• antifriction
• benediction
• contradiction

Kids Definition

affliction

noun

af·​flic·​tion ə-ˈflik-shən 

1

: the state of being afflicted

2

: something that causes pain or unhappiness