affliction

noun

af·​flic·​tion ə-ˈflik-shən How to pronounce affliction (audio)
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

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 Like sickle cell disease, MS is a terrible affliction—with immune cells attacking neurons in the brain, interfering with both walking and talking. Robert Pearl, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 Cardiomyopathy is one of those mystery afflictions, genetic in certain cases, a disease some of us have and never find out unless the wrong virus, the wrong trigger, comes along and shakes it loose. Gregg Doyel, USA TODAY, 18 Jan. 2024 See all Example Sentences for affliction 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'affliction.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of affliction was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near affliction

Cite this Entry

“Affliction.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/affliction. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

affliction

noun
af·​flic·​tion ə-ˈflik-shən How to pronounce affliction (audio)
1
: the state of being afflicted
2
: something that causes pain or unhappiness

More from Merriam-Webster on affliction

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