stricken
Americanverb
adjective
-
hit or wounded by a weapon, missile, or the like.
-
beset or afflicted, as with disease, trouble, or sorrow.
stricken areas; a stricken family.
-
deeply affected, as with grief, fear, or other emotions.
-
characterized by or showing the effects of affliction, trouble, misfortune, a mental blow, etc..
stricken features.
adjective
-
laid low, as by disease or sickness
-
deeply affected, as by grief, love, etc
-
archaic wounded or injured
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of stricken
First recorded in 1530–40
Explanation
Stricken means "overwhelmed by emotion." When you saw the pretty new girl at school smiling at you, you were so stricken you walked right into a wall. Stricken means "affected," whether it's in a good way — being so stricken by spring fever that you can't stop singing and goofing around — or bad, like being stricken by a real fever and a sore throat and the chills and. . . you get the idea. You can also be stricken by fear, like a family so stricken by fear of bedbugs that they cancelled their hotel reservation and just slept in their car.
Vocabulary lists containing stricken
The Outsiders
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
List 6
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Bud, Not Buddy
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
The Guardian tops with Burnham ordering his policy advisers "to rip up their plans for how to fix Thames Water and present him with more radical options for what to do with the stricken company".
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
A video released later by authorities showed how, just before dawn, a Bulgarian border-police vessel pulled alongside the stricken vessel, battling rough seas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
He was so stricken when a local restaurant mistakenly grilled his food in butter, instead of oil, that he was unconscious when the ambulance arrived.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
Then, William Hyde, a middle-aged Black man born and bred in Nashville, looked dumbfounded—he too had been stricken by Chud.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
Then she yanks away, taking several steps backward and staring at me with stricken eyes.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
