verb
Other Word Forms
- afflicter noun
- afflictive adjective
- overafflict verb (used with object)
- preafflict verb (used with object)
- self-afflicting adjective
- unafflicting adjective
Etymology
Origin of afflict
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English afflicten, from Latin afflīctus “distressed,” past participle of afflīgere “to cast down” ( af- af- + flīg- “knock” + -tus past participle suffix); replacing Middle English aflight, from Middle French aflit, from Latin; inflict
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Huntington’s disease afflicts about 40,000 patients in the U.S., and there are no current treatments that slow progression.
But if England can avoid the early scoreboard slippage that has afflicted them in the past matches and stick tight to the hosts, they may be rewarded.
From BBC
The regular crowd shots of the waiting room too often reduce the afflicted into a zombie-like horde bent on making life more difficult for our beloved medical staff.
From Los Angeles Times
The team have worked at finding ways to prevent the vibrations from the engine leading to failures in the batteries in the engine's hybrid system, which afflicted them during pre-season testing.
From BBC
The West African country has long been afflicted by civil war, foreign military interventions, and Islamist insurgencies.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
