affliction

[uh-flik-shuh n] /əˈflɪk ʃən/
noun
1.
a state of pain, distress, or grief; misery:
They sympathized with us in our affliction.
2.
a cause of mental or bodily pain, as sickness, loss, calamity, or persecution.
Origin
1300-50; Middle English affliccioun < Latin afflīctiōn- (stem of afflīctiō). See afflict, -ion
Related forms
afflictionless, adjective
overaffliction, noun
preaffliction, noun
Synonyms
2. mishap, trouble, tribulation, calamity, catastrophe, disaster. Affliction, adversity, misfortune, trial refer to an event or circumstance that is hard to bear. A misfortune is any adverse or unfavorable occurrence: He had the misfortune to break his leg. Affliction suggests not only a serious misfortune but the emotional effect of this: Blindness is an affliction. Adversity suggests a calamity or distress: Job remained patient despite all his adversities. Trial emphasizes the testing of one's character in undergoing misfortunes, trouble, etc.: His son's conduct was a great trial to him.
Antonyms
1. relief, comfort, solace.
Examples from the web for affliction
  • Carpal tunnel syndrome is an affliction of the median nerve, which helps to control the hand.
  • People spend billions of dollars every year to combat this common affliction.
  • Instead, the affliction was responsible for his lifelong interest in words.
  • I, like many many other geeks, suffer from an affliction called gadget lust.
  • The affliction had ravaged her nervous system and left her paralyzed.
  • We've all heard about "conspicuous consumption," the now out-of-vogue affliction.
  • My colleagues know about my affliction, though they don't suffer it well.
  • Many of these efforts are an attempt to combat norovirus, a common affliction often referred to as stomach flu.
  • Either way, I suffer from this affliction primarily when grading student essays.
  • Brain-cell membranes were disrupted, an affliction that has been linked to illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease in humans.
British Dictionary definitions for affliction

affliction

/əˈflɪkʃən/
noun
1.
a condition of great distress, pain, or suffering
2.
something responsible for physical or mental suffering, such as a disease, grief, etc
Word Origin and History for affliction
n.

c.1300, from Old French afliction (11c.), from Latin afflictionem (nominative afflictio), noun of action from past participle stem of affligere (see afflict).