as in distress
a state of great suffering of body or mind
a documentary chronicling the lasting tribulation of Holocaust survivors
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 tribulation
Directed by Craig Brewer, it’s based on a 2008 documentary by the same name, available to watch on YouTube, about Lightning & Thunder’s triumphs and tribulations.
—
Piet Levy, jsonline.com, 16 Feb. 2026
Plenty of male filmmakers have successfully aligned themselves with the daily tribulations of women — hello to the Dardenne brothers and Éric Rohmer, amongst others.
—Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 16 Feb. 2026
Getting forced to play little league baseball is about as emo as youthful tribulations get.
—Billie Bugara, Pitchfork, 10 Feb. 2026
Current totals of seven league goals and four assists suggest those early-season tribulations have been vanquished.
—Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tribulation
Piet Levy, jsonline.com, 16 Feb. 2026
Plenty of male filmmakers have successfully aligned themselves with the daily tribulations of women — hello to the Dardenne brothers and Éric Rohmer, amongst others.
—Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 16 Feb. 2026
Getting forced to play little league baseball is about as emo as youthful tribulations get.
—Billie Bugara, Pitchfork, 10 Feb. 2026
Current totals of seven league goals and four assists suggest those early-season tribulations have been vanquished.
—Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tribulation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tribulation
Noun
-
There is a long history of women's pain being dismissed by doctors, incorrectly categorized as period pain or rooted in psychological distress.—
Madeline Mitchell,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The lawsuit accuses the driver, named as a defendant, of assault and battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.—
Nick Lentz,
CBS News,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Most Miami Beach residents and visitors have likely seen the giant bronze sculpture of an outstretched arm reaching to the sky as hundreds of small human figures cling to it and each other with expressions of agony.—
Lauren Costantino
March 27,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
-
But in the short term, the decision is likely to be popular with millions of Americans who’ve seen all the airport agony and have never liked the idea of using federal government shutdowns — of any kind, by either party — to win partisan policy fights.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The transition from agricultural employment to factory employment involved wrenching mass migration, the utter misery of the Great Depression (as well as other brutal recessions, now faded from collective memory), and the painful dealmaking of the New Deal.—
Annie Lowrey,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
-
In contrast, his wife, Chandravati, is selfish as a daughter-in-law and disrespects Swasthani, leading to enormous misery for her.—
Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz,
The Conversation,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
But some congregants’ anguish over October 7th was compounded by dread about Israel’s brutal, indiscriminate response.—
Eyal Press,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Accenting the anguish by bizarre apparent coincidence, less than two weeks later the National Basketball Rules Committee reinstated the dunk — it had been banned for nearly a decade at the amateur level.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Initially the pain is pretty severe, but after a little bit it kind of winds down.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
-
The Environmental Protection Agency issued emergency waivers to allow E15 gasoline sales, which is otherwise only allowed for part of the year due to environmental concerns, in an effort to ease pain at the gas pump earlier this week.—
Hailey Bullis,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tribulation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tribulation. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
