tribulation

IPA/ˌtrɪbjuˈleɪʃn/
KK[trˌɪbjəlˈeʃən]IPA/ˌtrɪbjuˈleɪʃn/

tribulation — noun

  • tribulationsingular
  • tribulationsplural

1. a period or event of severe difficulty, suffering, or trouble that tests a perso

1.名詞C1
釋義

a period or event of severe difficulty, suffering, or trouble that tests a person's strength, patience, or spirit

例句

Eri faced many tribulations after losing his job and his home in the same year.

collocation: face tribulations

The village's tribulations began when the flood destroyed their crops and homes.

often used in plural

同義詞
  • adversity

    more abstract and continuous; 'adversity' is an ongoing state while 'tribulation' often refers to specific events or periods

  • hardship

    wider in scope and less intense; hardship can be economic, physical, or social, while tribulation often carries a sense of emotional or spiritual testing

  • ordeal

    focuses on a single, difficult experience rather than a series; 'the ordeal of the interview' but not 'the ordeal of losing everything'

  • trial

    softer and more general; overlaps with tribulation but is used in everyday contexts ('the trials of parenting')

反義詞
  • comfort

    the state of ease and relief from hardship

  • joy

    a feeling of happiness, contrasting with the suffering of tribulation

文法句型

tribulation(s) + can be faced/endured/overcome

through + tribulation(s)

用法筆記

Frequently appears in the fixed phrase 'trials and tribulations', which emphasises a long series of difficult experiences. Can be used as a countable noun (one tribulation, many tribulations) or as an uncountable mass noun (a time of great tribulation).

常見錯誤

Getting a flat tire was a tribulation.
Getting a flat tire was an inconvenience.
💡tribulation describes serious, prolonged hardship, not minor annoyances.