AFFLICTION
affliction
(noun) a cause of great suffering and distress
affliction
(noun) a condition of suffering or distress due to ill health
affliction
(noun) a state of great suffering and distress due to adversity
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
affliction (countable and uncountable, plural afflictions)
A state of pain, suffering, distress or agony.
Something which causes pain, suffering, distress or agony.
Source: Wiktionary
Af*flic"tion, n. Etym: [F. affliction, L. afflictio, fr. affligere.]
1. The cause of continued pain of body or mind, as sickness, losses,
etc.; an instance of grievous distress; a pain or grief.
To repay that money will be a biting affliction. Shak.
2. The state of being afflicted; a state of pain, distress, or grief.
Some virtues are seen only in affliction. Addison.
Syn.
– Calamity; sorrow; distress; grief; pain; adversity; misery;
wretchedness; misfortune; trouble; hardship.
– Affliction, Sorrow, Grief, Distress. Affliction and sorrow are
terms of wide and general application; grief and distress have
reference to particular cases. Affliction is the stronger term. The
suffering lies deeper in the soul, and usually arises from some
powerful cause, such as the loss of what is most dear -- friends,
health, etc. We do not speak of mere sickness or pain as "an
affliction," though one who suffers from either is said to be
afflicted; but deprivations of every kind, such as deafness,
blindness, loss of limbs, etc., are called afflictions, showing that
term applies particularly to prolonged sources of suffering. Sorrow
and grief are much alike in meaning, but grief is the stronger term
of the two, usually denoting poignant mental suffering for some
definite cause, as, grief for the death of a dear friend; sorrow is
more reflective, and is tinged with regret, as, the misconduct of a
child is looked upon with sorrow. Grief is often violent and
demonstrative; sorrow deep and brooding. Distress implies extreme
suffering, either bodily or mental. In its higher stages, it denotes
pain of a restless, agitating kind, and almost always supposes some
struggle of mind or body. Affliction is allayed, grief subsides,
sorrow is soothed, distress is mitigated.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition