Meaning & use

tribulation

noun·Advanced

A state of great trouble, hardship, or suffering, or an experience that causes it.

See it in a sentence

The family endured years of financial tribulation before the business finally succeeded.

Her memoir describes the tribulations of raising three children during the war.

A note on using this word

Tribulation is formal and often appears in the plural, or in the fixed phrase trials and tribulations.

Words with a similar meaning

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Words with an opposite meaning

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