Arabic word sheet
فِتْنَةٌ
a trial, a trouble
- Type
- noun
- Root
- ف ت ن
Meaning and usage
Trial, ordeal
A painful situation that puts someone to the test and shows what they are made of. It is said of a misfortune, a hardship or a hard period one goes through.
كَانَ الْمَرَضُ فِتْنَةً شَدِيدَةً لِلْأُسْرَةِ.
The illness was a hard trial for the family.
Strife, unrest
A conflict that breaks out inside a group and splits it, sometimes into violence. It is said of quarrels and unrest among the people of one country, one town or one family.
وَقَعَتْ فِتْنَةٌ بَيْنَ أَهْلِ الْقَرْيَةِ.
Strife broke out among the people of the village.
Temptation, allure
Something that attracts so strongly that it is hard to resist, or the attraction itself. It is said of a thing or a person that fascinates and turns one away from what one meant to do.
كَانَتِ الْحَلْوَى فِتْنَةً لِلطِّفْلِ الصَّغِيرِ.
The sweets were a temptation for the little child.
Plural
فِتَنٌ
Word family
What the root means ف ت ن
The root starts from a goldsmith's act: melting gold or silver in the fire to tell the good from the bad. From it come the trial that shows what someone is worth, the act of testing or of captivating, the one who is tested or fascinated, and what charms.
to put to the test; to captivate
فَتَنَ
to be tried; to be fascinated
اِفْتَتَنَ
tried; fascinated
مَفْتُونٌ
charming, captivating
فَاتِنٌ
very charming; a great tempter
فَتَّانٌ
being tried or fascinated
فُتُونٌ
Synonyms
ordeal
مِحْنَةٌ
It names only the hardship that tests a person, without the idea of strife or of temptation.
being put to the test
اِبْتِلَاءٌ
It stresses the act of being tested, by a misfortune or by a favour, and does not cover strife.
test, examination
اِخْتِبَارٌ
A neutral word for any check, even the most ordinary, with nothing painful about it.