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.
"Rubio spoke about aiding the homeless, terminally ill and those afflicted by leprosy," Sister Marie Juan of Missionaries of Charity told reporters after his hour-and-a-half-long visit.
From Barron's • May 23, 2026
I hope you are not afflicted, as I am, with the urge to struggle more than necessary, but if you are, this recipe is for you.
From Salon • Apr. 13, 2026
Comforting the afflicted, supporting communities and individuals, all that comes later—or not at all.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026
This partly explains, Cembalest writes, the deindustrialization that has afflicted its economy so debilitatingly in the last few years.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 9, 2026
No sooner had they stopped than the press began to thicken around them, as more and more of the afflicted came limping and shambling toward the wagons.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
