afflicted
Americanadjective
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of afflicted
Explanation
Afflicted means "impaired" or "stricken" and usually refers to a person who is mentally or physically unfit, or has been grievously affected by disease. This adjective's Latin root, afflictare, means "to damage, harass, or torment," which may sometimes be a good description of how an afflicted person feels. Those with mental illness may be tormented by voices in their head and thus be unable to distinguish what is real from what is not. Those afflicted by ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease, slowly lose control of their muscles and become paralyzed.
Vocabulary lists containing afflicted
"The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin
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1984
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"The Story of an Hour"
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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.
Throughout this year, the entire country seems to have been afflicted with the weather-app blues.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
They interviewed 191 afflicted people, and found that 177 reported eating at Mexican-style restaurants including Chipotle Mexican Grill and Qdoba before their illness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Several European nations have been afflicted by wildfires this summer during a succession of heatwaves.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
But as one POW’s descendant told Mike Cherney, 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
Infusion of goldenseal eased the sore throat that sometimes afflicted fishermen after long days in the boats.
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
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.
