Definition

1. Noun:
   • A state of great trouble or suffering: "Tribulation" refers to a period or situation of severe distress, hardship, or affliction.
   • A cause of such trouble or suffering: It can also refer to a specific event or experience that is a source of severe difficulty or suffering.

Usage

• Tribulation is primarily used as a formal or literary noun to describe intense suffering or adversity. It often implies a test of endurance or faith over time.
• It is commonly found in religious, philosophical, or serious narrative contexts.
• It is typically used as a countable noun (e.g., ) or an uncountable noun (e.g., ).

Examples

• The early settlers endured many tribulations during the harsh winter.
• Her illness was a long and painful tribulation for the entire family.
• The book explores the tribulations of life in a war-torn country.
• He faced his personal tribulations with remarkable courage.

Advanced Usage

• "Trials and tribulations": A common fixed phrase meaning the various difficulties and hardships experienced in life.
  • The documentary detailed the trials and tribulations of starting a new business.
• "A time of tribulation": A period marked by great suffering.
  • The nation entered a time of tribulation following the natural disaster.

Variants and Related Words

• Tribulate (verb, archaic): To afflict with suffering; to trouble. (Rarely used in modern English).
• Tribulatory (adjective, rare): Of or pertaining to tribulation.

Synonyms

• Adversity: A difficult or unpleasant situation.
• Hardship: Severe suffering or privation.
• Affliction: Something that causes pain or suffering.
• Ordeal: A painful or horrific experience.
• Distress: Extreme anxiety, sorrow, or pain.

Antonyms

• Joy: A feeling of great pleasure and happiness.
• Blessing: A beneficial thing for which one is grateful; something that brings well-being.
• Ease: Absence of difficulty or effort.
• Comfort: A state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint.

Idioms and Phrases

• "Through tribulation": Emerging after a period of great difficulty.
  • Their friendship was strengthened through tribulation.
• "A vale of tribulation" (literary): A metaphorical phrase describing life or a period as a valley of suffering.
  • The poet wrote of passing through a vale of tribulation.

Noun

1. an annoying or frustrating or catastrophic event
   • his mother-in-law's visits were a great trial for him
   • life is full of tribulations
   • a visitation of the plague