tribulation

Tribulation denotes severe trouble or suffering, whether experienced by an individual or a group. It can describe oppression, persecution, disaster, or a prolonged period of trial. In secular use, the word often refers to hardships endured in difficult circumstances, such as economic or social turmoil; in religious contexts it carries eschatological or doctrinal connotations.

The term derives from the Latin tribulatio, meaning distress or trouble, and entered English in the Middle Ages. It is typically used to emphasize endurance through hardship rather than the event itself.

In Christian theology, tribulation is a period of suffering believed to precede or accompany the end of the world. Biblical usage appears in the New Testament and later writings, where it is associated with divine judgment, testing, and redemption. In some traditions, a distinct phase called the Great Tribulation is described as a time of intensified persecution before Christ's return. Belief about its timing, duration, and the fate of believers varies among denominations, with some teaching that faithful followers will endure tribulation, while others hold that believers will be spared through a rapture.

Outside religious contexts, tribulation is used to describe serious difficulties, such as wars, epidemics, or natural disasters, as well as personal adversity. The term is commonly used metaphorically in journalism and literature to convey collective hardship or endurance.

See also trials, hardships, persecution, apocalypse, eschatology.