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.
“As such, demand for credit among individuals and households afflicted by memory disorders may increase just as its supply is restricted.”
From MarketWatch
Many of the forces weighing on downtown Dallas—from remote work to homelessness—are afflicting other urban core neighborhoods.
He wants nothing to do with the afflicted, no matter how peace-loving they appear.
From Los Angeles Times
After rallying for most of the year, bitcoin and other digital tokens fall back—caught up in a broader decline afflicting riskier trades across all markets.
A hidden consequence of disasters, distinct from the traumas afflicting each person, was a shredding of “social life that damages the bonds attaching people together and impairs a prevailing sense of communality,” he wrote.
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.
