afflict

[uh-flikt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR afflict ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to distress with mental or bodily pain; trouble greatly or grievously: to be afflicted with arthritis.

Obsolete.

to overthrow; defeat.
to humble.

Nearby words

Origin of afflict

1350–1400; Middle English afflicten < Latin afflīctus distressed, past participle of afflīgere to cast down (af- af- + flīg- knock + -tus past participle suffix); replacing Middle English aflight < Middle French aflit < L. See inflict

SYNONYMS FOR afflict

1. vex, harass, torment, plague.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR afflict ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

af·flict·ed·ness, nounaf·flict·er, nouno·ver·af·flict, verb (used with object)pre·af·flict, verb (used with object)

self-af·flict·ing, adjectiveun·af·flict·ed, adjectiveun·af·flict·ed·ly, adverbun·af·flict·ed·ness, nounun·af·flict·ing, adjective

Can be confusedafflict infect inflict

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for afflict

He wanted to give a voice to the voiceless, comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable.
Obama Administration and Sotloff Family Battle Over Blame for Journalist’s Kidnapping|Josh Rogin|September 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They want to take on authority and comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable and all that hoo-ha.
On The Times' House Liberalism|Michael Tomasky|August 27, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Tina Brown: So performance anxiety must afflict writers as well as actors.
Philip Roth Unbound: Interview Transcript|The Daily Beast Video|October 30, 2009|DAILY BEAST
I cannot see why Heaven ever chose to afflict me so cruelly.
They Looked and Loved|Mrs. Alex McVeigh Miller

And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.
David|Charles Kingsley
The insanity and disease that afflict many men of genius is well known.
Crime: Its Cause and Treatment|Clarence Darrow
Anna Belle's forced abstemiousness had ceased to afflict her.
Jewel|Clara Louise Burnham
Nine-tenths of the ills that afflict mankind have their origin in a foul digestive apparatus and a consequently poisoned body.
Intestinal Ills|Alcinous Burton Jamison

British Dictionary definitions for afflict

afflict

verb

(tr) to cause suffering or unhappiness to; distress greatly

Derived Formsafflictive, adjective

Word Origin for afflict

C14: from Latin afflictus, past participle of afflīgere to knock against, from flīgere to knock, to strike

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for afflict

afflict

late 14c., "to cast down," from Old French aflicter, from Latin afflictare "to damage, harass, torment," frequentative of affligere (past participle afflictus) "to dash down, overthrow," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + fligere (past participle flictus) "to strike," from PIE root *bhlig- "to strike" (cf. Greek phlibein "to press, crush," Czech blizna "scar," Welsh blif "catapult"). Transferred meaning of "trouble, distress," is first recorded 1530s. Related: Afflicted; afflicting.