Meaning & use
affliction
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Meanings
nouncountableformal
An illness, disability or other problem that makes someone suffer for a long time.
Grammar: Countable for a particular condition: a lifelong affliction.
Patterns
- an affliction of something
- suffer from an affliction
Chronic back pain is a common affliction among office workers.
He bore his affliction without complaint.
The disease is a rare affliction of the nerves.
noununcountableliterary
A state of great distress, hardship or misery.
Grammar: Uncountable when it means suffering in general: relief from affliction.
Patterns
- in affliction
- comfort in affliction
The charity helped families in times of affliction.
She found comfort in prayer during her affliction.
The villagers endured years of drought and affliction.
nouncountablehumorous
Something that causes trouble or annoyance, sometimes said humorously.
Grammar: Often used with a joking tone.
Patterns
- an affliction on someone
Early mornings are a terrible affliction for teenagers.
His singing is an affliction on the whole household.
The mosquitoes were a daily affliction at the lake.
Word forms
| plural | afflictions |
|---|
Common combinations
- suffer from an affliction
- She suffers from a rare affliction of the eyes.
- bear an affliction
- He bore his affliction with dignity.
- common affliction
- Hay fever is a common affliction in spring.
- chronic affliction
- Arthritis can be a chronic affliction.
- comfort the afflicted
- Nurses comfort the afflicted every day.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ailment
- Ailment is a milder word for an illness, often minor, while affliction suggests a heavy burden.
- suffering
- Suffering names the pain itself, and affliction names its cause or condition.
- burden
- Burden stresses something heavy to carry, and need not be a disease.
- scourge
- Scourge is stronger and used for widespread plagues or evils, not one person's trouble.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: affliction or inflict? affliction or affection?
affliction vs inflict
Inflict means to impose something unpleasant on someone, while afflict means to trouble someone, usually with illness or hardship.
affliction vs affection
Affection means fondness and sounds similar to affliction, but they have opposite emotional tones.
Practice
Hay fever is a common ____ for many people each spring.
Choose one answer.
An affliction is a condition that causes suffering, which suits hay fever. Affection, affinity and affectation have different meanings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “affliction”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.