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affliction

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affliction

  • /əˈflɪk.ʃən/

Rhymes with -ɪkʃən

Where it comes from

From Middle English affliction, affliccioun, from Old French afliction, borrowed from Latin afflīctiōnem (“pain, suffering, torment”), from Latin afflīctō (“to damage, harass, torment”), from ad- + flīctus, past participle of afflīgō (“strike, beat”), from ad- + flīgō (“strike”) (whence af-). By surface analysis, afflict + -ion.

noun afflictions

  1. countable, uncountable A state of pain, suffering, distress or agony. BEAT on, proud billows; Boreas blow; / Swell, curled waves, high as Jove's roof; / Your incivility doth ſhow, / That innocence is tempeſt proof; / Though ſurly Nereus frown, my thoughts are calm; / Then ſtrike, Affliction, for thy wounds are balm. [Attributed to Roger L'Estrange (1616–1704).]
  2. countable, uncountable Something which causes pain, suffering, distress or agony. She wore a man's long ulster (not as if it were an affliction, but as if it were very comfortable and belonged to her; carried it like a young soldier) [...]

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: pain, suffering, scourge, distress, grief, bereavement, trouble, woe, misery, sorrow, sickness, illness, doom, sick, infirmity, impairment

Translations

Every language

noun a state of pain, suffering, distress or agony

Españolaflicción, quebranto
中文痛苦 tòngkǔ
Portuguêsaflição
Françaisaffliction, détresse
DeutschLeiden, Behinderung
Italianoafflizione
Русскийстрада́ние stradánije, печа́ль pečálʹ, огорче́ние ogorčénije, боль bolʹ, го́ре góre, муче́ние mučénije

noun something which causes pain, suffering, distress or agony

Françaisaffliction
Italianoafflizione

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Cite this
MLA

"affliction." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/affliction. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

affliction. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/affliction

Chicago

"affliction." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/affliction.

BibTeX
@misc{affliction_2026,
  title = {affliction},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/affliction},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}