For the loss of friends by death we commonly use affliction or bereavement. Affliction, chastening, trial, and tribulation have all an especially religious bearing, suggesting some disciplinary purpose of God with beneficent design.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

disease Eating healthfully can help prevent heart disease.
grief There are five stages of grief. Stage one: denial.
misery Tom blamed all his misery on planned obsolescence.
hardship They had to endure great hardship during the war.
curse Don't curse or I'll wash your mouth out with soap.
sorrow To my sorrow, my father cannot attend the meeting.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
affliction		rising
disease		steady
grief		rising
misery		rising
hardship		falling
curse		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: ill¹, woe¹
4 letters: pain¹, pest¹, dole¹, bane¹
5 letters: cross¹, trial², grief¹, curse¹, agony³
6 letters: burden², misery³, plague¹, sorrow², mishap²
7 letters: disease², trouble², sadness², anguish², torment², scourge¹
8 letters: pressure², disaster³, distress², sickness², hardship², nuisance², calamity⁴, vexation
9 letters: suffering³, adversity⁴, annoyance³, heartache², grievance²
10 letters: bitterness³, misfortune³, visitation⁴, infliction³
11 letters: catastrophe⁴, unhappiness⁴, tribulation⁴
12 letters: wretchedness

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (trial² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: affliction
Italiano: afflizione
Español: aflicción
Deutsch: Gram
Català: aflicció