1
as in distress
a state of great suffering of body or mind
she listened with deep affliction as her daughter told her about the latest trouble she was in
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2
as in sorrow
deep sadness especially for the loss of someone or something loved
felt such great affliction over the destruction of the beautiful old home
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3
as in curse
a source of harm or misfortune
alcohol has been his affliction ever since he took his first drink at the age of 12
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4
5
as in injury
something that causes loss or pain
cronyism and corruption are afflictions on the body politic
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of affliction
The finding could improve the treatment of both mental, emotional and physical afflictions.
—
Michael Franco
may 06, New Atlas, 6 May 2025
Paradoxically, these efforts sometimes undermine their own goals, concealing, and at times exacerbating, the afflictions of the most vulnerable.
—Manvir Singh, The New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2025
Mat is also remaining in Tar Valon, in the hopes that Nynaeve will be able to help cure him of his affliction, plagued with memories not his own.
—Leigh Butler, TIME, 13 Mar. 2025
Ron became a frequent visitor to the trapping campsite, and his many tales told ’round the fire proved more than ample to further my recent affliction.
—Thomas Weddle, Outdoor Life, 17 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for affliction
Michael Franco
may 06, New Atlas, 6 May 2025
Paradoxically, these efforts sometimes undermine their own goals, concealing, and at times exacerbating, the afflictions of the most vulnerable.
—Manvir Singh, The New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2025
Mat is also remaining in Tar Valon, in the hopes that Nynaeve will be able to help cure him of his affliction, plagued with memories not his own.
—Leigh Butler, TIME, 13 Mar. 2025
Ron became a frequent visitor to the trapping campsite, and his many tales told ’round the fire proved more than ample to further my recent affliction.
—Thomas Weddle, Outdoor Life, 17 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for affliction
Recent Examples of Synonyms for affliction
Noun
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That places an onerous burden on Henson, doing her considerable best trying to sustain a role whose Job-like travails crank the distress level to 11 too soon.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
6 June 2025
-
The report highlights research on young adults that shows that trans students who participate in collegiate sports are less likely to experience distress, self-harm and suicidal thoughts.—
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy,
USA Today,
6 June 2025
Noun
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To date, the Facebook post about her story has garnered more than 19,000 reactions, sparking a wave of sorrow and outrage from animal lovers across the country.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 June 2025
-
Prefaced by a host of personal disasters—the death of her mother’s onetime partner Mary Norcross, her own hospitalization for digestive problems, her mother’s painful shingles and neuralgia—the decade of the 1940s brought sorrow.—
Susan Gubar
June 9,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2025
Noun
-
The sheer volume of deals promoted by Amazon during sales like Prime Day is a blessing and a curse.—
Louryn Strampe,
Wired News,
12 June 2025
-
No conference in major college football can match the Big 12 for parity, which is both a blessing and curse.—
Jon Wilner,
Mercury News,
6 June 2025
Noun
-
The trailer certainly paints a trippy picture of a high-tech near-future that veers into nightmare territory, as so many games in the Black Ops franchise tend to do, slipping between missions in the real-world and a psychedelic dream-world filled with demons and other nightmares.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
8 June 2025
-
Months before, Stevens feared President Johnson was pursuing a Reconstruction program that would readmit Confederate states to the Union without them exorcising the demon that animated secession.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 June 2025
Noun
-
Marcelo Mayer stepped into the void left at third base when Alex Bregman went down with a quad injury, making his major league debut, and has hit .222, with an OBP of less than .300.—
Dan Freedman,
Forbes.com,
9 June 2025
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Delfino Aguilar-Martinez, 51, of Mexico, was arrested Friday and had previously been charged and convicted with assault with a deadly weapon with great bodily injury, DHS said.—
Greg Wehner , Bill Melugin,
FOXNews.com,
9 June 2025
Noun
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And that gave him some kind of legitimacy after 40 years of agony, derided by the music press.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
11 June 2025
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For more than a year, the Perry family waited in agony for answers.—
Christina Coulter,
People.com,
7 June 2025
Noun
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Among the thousands left in anguish is Sasha Escalante, a 44-year-old Venezuelan radio producer living in Miami.—
Verónica Egui Brito,
Miami Herald,
5 June 2025
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Criminalizing them can lead to extended mental anguish.—
Sophie Clark,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 June 2025
Noun
-
Carrie Coon's biggest beef on season 1 of The Gilded Age wasn't with Christine Baranski, her character's nemesis, but with her own wardrobe.—
Ryan Coleman,
EW.com,
3 June 2025
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After hubris comes nemesis, and after the frenzied excesses of the woke revolution came Donald Trump.—
Rich Lowry,
National Review,
28 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Affliction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/affliction. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
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