thorn vs infliction

thorn and infliction both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
thorn	Yes	No	No	No
infliction	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, infliction is a hypernym of thorn; that is, infliction is a word with a broader meaning than thorn:

thorn: something that causes irritation and annoyance
infliction: something or someone that causes trouble; a source of unhappiness

Other hypernyms of thorn include annoyance, bother, botheration, nuisance, pain, pain in the ass, pain in the neck.

thorn (noun)	infliction (noun)
something that causes irritation and annoyance	the act of imposing something (as a tax or an embargo)
a Germanic character of runic origin	an act causing pain or damage
a small sharp-pointed tip resembling a spike on a stem or leaf	something or someone that causes trouble; a source of unhappiness