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affliction

Pronunciation: /əˈflɪkʃ(ə)n/

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Definition of affliction

noun

a cause of pain or harm:a crippling affliction of the nervous system
[mass noun] the state of being in pain:poor people in great affliction
Astrology an instance of one celestial body afflicting another.

Origin:

Middle English (originally in the sense 'infliction of pain or humiliation', specifically 'religious self-mortification'): via Old French from Latin afflictio(n-), from the verb affligere (see afflict)