affliction Copy link Outline I. A state of pain, distress, a griefII. A cause of such a state • affliction: I. A state of pain, distress, a grief: mĭsĕrĭa: he could by no means extricate himself from that a., nulla ratione se ab illa m. eripere poterat, Cic.: v. wretchedness, distress, grief. II. A cause of such a state: mălum, adversae res: v. evil, misfortune, calamity.