What does affliction mean?
Word: Affliction
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Affliction means something that causes pain, suffering or trouble, such as an illness or a disability.
Synonyms: suffering, illness, distress, hardship
Antonyms: relief
Word origin: Comes from Latin, from a verb meaning to knock down or strike against.
How do you spell affliction?
Syllables: af - flic - tion
Tricky part: Two f's come at the start, as in affect and affair; students who hear only one f sound write afliction.
Watch out for: afliction, aphliction
Memory tip: An affliction brings suffering, and suffering also has two f's.
Affliction in a sentence
Example 1: Malaria was a common affliction in the village before the drains were cleaned.
Example 2: Stage fright is an affliction that many great singers share.
Example 3: The long flood was a terrible affliction for the people of the valley.
Fun Fact
Shakespeare used the word affliction in several plays, among them King Lear and Hamlet.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Three of these words are spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word:
1. patient 2. affliktion 3. symptom 4. vaccine
a) a person receiving medical treatment
b) a sign of an illness
c) a substance that protects the body against a disease
d) something that causes pain or suffering
Show answer
d) something that causes pain or suffering. The k sound in the middle is written with a c, never a k.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word affliction as used in the sentence:
For years the old fisherman bore his affliction with great patience.
a) comfort
b) secret
c) duty
d) habit
Show answer
a) comfort. Comfort eases pain, while an affliction causes it.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
affl_ct_on
a) e, e
b) i, i
c) e, i
d) i, e
Show answer
b) i, i. Both gaps hold an i: the vowel of flick, then the ion ending.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
For the old farmer, the long drought was a real tcoifilnaf.
a) infliction
b) affliction
c) affection
d) fiction
Show answer
b) affliction. Affection has no l, infliction has only one f and no a, and fiction is three letters short, so the letters make affliction.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. An affliction could be ____.
a) a busy day at school
b) a crowded train ride
c) a long but happy holiday
d) a rash that will not heal
Show answer
d) a rash that will not heal
2. How do most people feel about an affliction they have?
a) they hardly notice it
b) they find it amusing
c) they hope it will last
d) they wish it would end
Show answer
d) they wish it would end
