YOUR VOCABULARY, ONE WORD AT A TIME

affliction

Noun

IPA /əˈflɪkʃn/

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Meaning in plain English

A painful problem, illness or experience that causes someone to suffer.

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Pronunciation

affliction/əˈflɪkʃn/

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A recurring illness causes difficulty
The person experiences lasting distress

An affliction is a source of suffering, such as a painful recurring illness.

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His recurring migraines were an affliction that disrupted family plans.
The researcher wrote about the social effects of this long-term affliction.

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His recurring migraines were an ________ that disrupted family plans.

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affliction — A painful problem, illness or experience that causes someone to suffer.

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A painful problem, illness or experience that causes someone to suffer.

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Word origin

Through Old French from Latin afflictio, related to a verb meaning to strike down.

Did you know?

Affliction can be countable when it means a particular source of suffering: an affliction or several afflictions.

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