affliction

Affliction is a condition or state of great physical, mental, or emotional suffering. It can refer to a disease, disability, or other hardship that causes distress. The term also functions as a verb meaning to trouble or distress someone or something. Its etymology traces to the Latin afflictio, from affligere "to strike down, to press hard," entering English via Old French affliquer.

In medical contexts, affliction can describe a disease or chronic condition that impairs health, or more broadly a source of ongoing discomfort or impairment. In everyday language, people may speak of afflictions such as illness, injury, mental health issues, or social and economic hardship. Afflictions can be acute or chronic, visible or invisible, and may require treatment, caregiving, or adaptation.

Cultural and religious texts sometimes portray affliction as a test, trial, or divine visitation. In literature, affliction is used to denote suffering and adversity that characters endure and either overcome or sustain. Although the term is less common in modern medical parlance, affliction remains a general synonym for misery or hardship and is often used in the plural to describe multiple sources of suffering.