How to Use tribulation in a Sentence

tribulation

noun
  • Her son's illness has been a source of great tribulation.
  • The play is about the tribulations of a family of immigrants in New York.
  • The small-scale tribulations of his life are played out in an absurdly large way.
    — Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2023
  • And that has powered him through tribulation and triumph over his young life.
    — Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 4 Dec. 2021
  • Cast me out in honor of the toil and tribulation of our forefathers.
    — David Means, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2019
  • In short, the Amish in this novel make their trials and tribulations look too easy.
    — Mike Fischer, Detroit Free Press, 29 July 2017
  • But alas, these are the trials and tribulations of a designer.
    — Lucia Tonelli, ELLE Decor, 2 May 2019
  • The trials and tribulations of adult life will arrive quickly enough.
    — Ted Crow, cleveland.com, 24 Sep. 2017
  • The tour itself has ridden the waves of Beirut’s tribulations.
    — Ben Hubbard, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2018
  • There will, for sure, be controversies and tribulations soon to come.
    — Niall Stanage, The Hill, 14 Dec. 2024
  • Take a deep breath as tribulations arise and be willing to swallow your pride in order to move forward.
    — Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Oct. 2023
  • Getting forced to play little league baseball is about as emo as youthful tribulations get.
    — Billie Bugara, Pitchfork, 10 Feb. 2026
  • Down the ages, everyone's had their own trials and tribulations.
    — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, 7 Feb. 2019
  • Fun and love could be just around the corner -- but so could some unexpected tribulation.
    — Chicago Tribune, 23 Oct. 2022
  • So how does one of the world’s most famous food celebrities deal with the trials and tribulations of air travel?
    — Tim Nelson, PEOPLE.com, 12 Oct. 2017
  • Vardy has been the one true constant during all the triumphs and tribulations of the last 10 years.
    — Rob Tanner, The Athletic, 19 Aug. 2024
  • That’s a pretty good way to forget about the last school year and all of the trials and tribulations both programs dealt with.
    — Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, 27 Oct. 2017
  • Still, compared with the upheavals of war and exile, these were minor tribulations.
    — Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 29 Jan. 2024
  • Olivia Newton-John’s life was full of triumphs and tribulations.
    — Melody Chiu, Peoplemag, 17 July 2023
  • The trials, tribulations and the triumphs.
    — Carl Lamarre, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
  • Creators have been using this sound as a soundtrack to life moments, from travels to tribulations.
    — Lucy Maguire, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2025
  • The Broncos, though, are on a wild run of wins in part because of those early season tribulations.
    — Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 1 Dec. 2025
  • Garry Kasparov has a pithy way of summing up the past 18 months of tribulation.
    — Bret Stephens New York Times, Star Tribune, 6 July 2021
  • The show jumps around in time, covering decades of the family’s triumphs and tribulations.
    — Stuart Miller, Oc Register, 18 Aug. 2025
  • At this point, a bogey on the hole would be a massive relief considering the tribulations to reach the green.
    — Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 12 June 2025
  • Ed understands the trials and tribulations of trying and not making it and being able to go on after that.
    — Emily Ludolph, New York Times, 16 July 2019
  • Kids these days will never understand the trials and tribulations of a pre-Netflix world.
    — Vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, 20 June 2017
  • Kathy Nakagawa, who will share the trials and tribulations of adulting as a parent.
    — Elizabeth Montgomery, azcentral, 2 Aug. 2019
  • The lyrics hear the pair singing from the perspective of a couple reflecting on life’s tribulations after getting to a better place.
    — Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 3 July 2024
  • But to Walker, the trials of yesterday prepared him for the tribulations for today.
    — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 7 May 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tribulation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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