afflict
Americanverb (used with object)
-
afflicts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
afflicted,
past participle, past
-
afflicting
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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afflicternoun
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overafflictverb (used with object)
-
preafflictverb (used with object)
-
afflictiveadjective
-
self-afflictingadjective
-
unafflictingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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afflictsimple
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afflictssimple
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have afflictedperfect
-
has afflictedperfect
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am afflictingprogressive
-
are afflictingprogressive
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is afflictingprogressive
-
have been afflictingperfect progressive
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has been afflictingperfect progressive
Past
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afflictedsimple
-
had afflictedperfect
-
was afflictingprogressive
-
were afflictingprogressive
-
had been afflictingperfect progressive
Future
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; see inflict
Explanation
To afflict is to cause suffering, pain, or misery. It’s often associated with medical conditions. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is most likely to afflict someone who spends many hours every day typing on our computers. We get afflict from the Latin word affligere, meaning “to strike down,” which is an old fashioned way of saying to get sick, or to have a condition of some kind. You could argue that chronic indecision was the main problem to afflict Hamlet, or that saying "um," "like," and "you know" are speech tics that afflict teens.
Vocabulary lists containing afflict
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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.
See Examples For:
Sleepless nights still afflict Maria occasionally but box breathing is something she knows can help her deal with periods that might feel overwhelming.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
The cost of common conditions that afflict retirees — from chronic illness to cardiovascular disease to cognitive decline — can deplete your savings with alarming speed.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026
It makes for a wily and endearing tale, and in Adrian Nathan West’s excellent translation, the writing is remarkably untroubled by the stylistic sclerosis that can afflict writers with Vargas Llosa’s prestige.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
Gross hallucinations — or are they? — will afflict them through the series.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2025
The exciting synergy of institutional life in an all-purpose national metropolis was deemed less important than the dangerous corruptions likely to afflict a nexus of politicians and financiers.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Or is Juneteenth a celebration of the strength and excellence that both grew out of the great evil that slavery represented and in spite of it, an evil that still afflicts the nation in 2026?
From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2026
It solves what I might call the Brennan problem, which afflicts officials who might otherwise have to spend their natural lives ducking and weaving about what they did in office.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 11, 2025
Another goal of Measure A is to reduce the number of people on the street suffering from severe mental illness, which according to the latest census afflicts more than 15,000 of the county’s homeless people.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2024
To get coverage they need support, and to get support they need coverage - the vicious circle that afflicts all but the two main parties in Westminster.
From BBC ● May 31, 2024
Now the elms are stricken with a disease that afflicts them throughout their range, a disease so serious that many experts believe all efforts to save the elms will in the end be futile.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Verstappen and Hamilton were the first of a number of cars that were afflicted by a software issue that left them unable to do more than crawl along.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
Throughout this year, the entire country seems to have been afflicted with the weather-app blues.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
"I don't know of any other center in the world that trains exorcists," Syquia said of the two-storey facility built largely with donations from local families of the previously afflicted.
From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026
Some of us are afflicted with longer memories of Broadway’s best than the instant sensation TikTok generation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
Nor did she appear to be afflicted by grief, or any other feeling.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
Military officials have disputed that there are severe issues afflicting the ship, and some veterans have also suggested that the accounts in the media are overblown.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
He explains how he believes Alcaraz’s tragic death likely came to be and how officers have become desensitized to issues afflicting America’s prisons.
From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2026
In 2005, Boeing agreed to pay $30 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that pollutants from the hilltop lab were responsible for range of cancers, auto-immune disorders and tumors afflicting nearby residents.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026
The rolling, forested hills of Kentucky’s bourbon country are ground zero for the slowdown afflicting the U.S. alcohol industry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 17, 2026
We are still beset by plain diseases, and we do not control them; they are loose on their own, afflicting us unpredictably and haphazardly.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
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.
