Affliction

How to spell affliction

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce affliction

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does affliction mean?

1. nounA condition of ongoing pain, illness, or distress, or the thing that causes it.

Affliction in a sentence

• Chronic back pain became an affliction that limited her working hours.

• The support group helped members cope with the same affliction.

Where does affliction come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb affligere, which combined the prefix ad- (meaning 'to' or 'against') with fligere (meaning 'to strike' or 'to dash down'). To afflict someone was therefore literally to strike them down or knock them to the ground, and the related Latin noun afflictio described that state of being beaten down or crushed. English took the word through Old French afliction in the 1300s, when it carried a strongly physical and emotional weight of being struck by suffering or grief. Over time the meaning settled on a persistent cause of distress, especially illness or hardship, rather than a literal blow. The same fligere root that means 'to strike' survives in 'conflict' (a striking together) and 'inflict', which helps explain the double 'l' lurking near the start: the prefix ad- assimilated into the f to give the doubled 'ff' spelling.

How the word is built

• af- (variant of ad-: to, toward)
• flict (from fligere: to strike, dash against)
• -ion (noun-forming suffix)