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)
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preafflictverb (used with object)
-
afflictiveadjective
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self-afflictingadjective
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unafflictingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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afflictsimple
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afflictssimple
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have afflictedperfect
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has afflictedperfect
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am afflictingprogressive
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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
We see the brothers standing in the center, unharmed; the flames reaching out to afflict everyone around them; and the observers on high looking perplexed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 22, 2025
“As this lawsuit shows, major national policy changes are desperately needed to safeguard against the terrible conditions that afflict so many immigrants held in detention centers across the country.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2025
Lustig sat down, and the three men let the wonder and terror of the thought afflict them.
From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury
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
This isn’t unique to religion—it afflicts any organization that produces collective goods.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026
Some 93% of the world’s children, she said, live in polluted air, and pollution hits home with her own kids, and the asthma that disproportionately afflicts L.A.’s kids.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
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
“Or tell her that melancholy afflicts me still.”
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Throughout this year, the entire country seems to have been afflicted with the weather-app blues.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
After Gilles Villeneuve died and team-mate Didier Pironi suffered horrendous injuries, and with Renault afflicted by reliability issues, Keke Rosberg came through to take the title for Williams despite winning only one race.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
"If it's 35 degrees outside, it's over 40 degrees inside," said the 65-year-old, complaining that ageing residents were being afflicted with increasing headaches.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
For Christopher Schurtz, it’s also the best hope yet to close a wound that has afflicted his family for three generations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
These indignant thoughts afflicted her until she was almost at her own ward when she remembered the men with crutches downstairs, waiting to be brought up in the lift.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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
That has driven down costs but also pushed some companies to the brink in another instance of the hypercompetition sometimes blamed for afflicting China’s economic health.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 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
What follows are the factors afflicting each region or market.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 17, 2026
Tijuana’s greatest tourist attraction was its racetrack, which benefited from the hard times afflicting the racing industry in the United States.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
