affliction
af·flic·tion/əˈflɪk.ʃən/noun
affliction is spelled A-F-F-L-I-C-T-I-O-N: 10 letters and 3 syllables (af·flic·tion). It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,070th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, affliction means “A state of pain, suffering, distress or agony” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of affliction is afflictions.
How many letters and syllables are in affliction?
| Letters | 10: A-F-F-L-I-C-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: af·flic·tion |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 25,070th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is affliction?
Affliction appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,070th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce affliction?
- /əˈflɪk.ʃən/
Affliction has 3 syllables, split af·flic·tion in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-affliction.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of affliction
- afflictions plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does affliction mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A state of pain, suffering, distress or agony.
- 2
Something which causes pain, suffering, distress or agony.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Affliction in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a state of pain, suffering, distress or agony:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | affliction, détresse |
| German | Leiden, Behinderung |
| Portuguese | aflição |
| Spanish | aflicción, quebranto |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does affliction come from?
From Middle English affliction, affliccioun, from Old French afliction, borrowed from Latin afflīctiōnem (“pain, suffering, torment”), from Latin afflīctō (“to damage, harass, torment”), from ad- + flīctus, past participle of afflīgō (“strike, beat”), from ad- + flīgō (“strike”) (whence af-). By surface analysis, afflict + -ion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).