afflict
Americanverb (used with object)
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)
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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
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have been afflictingperfect progressive
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has been afflictingperfect progressive
Past
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afflictedsimple
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had afflictedperfect
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was afflictingprogressive
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were afflictingprogressive
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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:
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
“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
However distanced you may feel from these effects, it’s worth pointing out that historically, what happens to Black workers comes to afflict all of America.
From Slate ● Sep. 10, 2025
My questions found no answers, and my thoughts continued to torment me until I feared that madness was beguming to afflict my brain.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
There’s also a reference to septicemia, which is writer-director Emerald Fennell’s perhaps too-technical stab at explaining the nonspecific Victorian disease that afflicts one character.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026
But if Ireland’s radically asymmetrical relationship with the U.S. is distinctive, the crisis it represents is global and afflicts many other small and medium-size nations.
From Salon ● Mar. 16, 2025
In her early 40s, Lane was diagnosed with post-polio syndrome, which afflicts between 25% and 40% of childhood polio survivors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 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
Even before the incident with Verstappen, Russell was afflicted on his final run by a water leak, which was spraying water on to his rear tyres.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 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
The United States said it would not allow anyone afflicted with the virus to enter the country.
From Barron's ● May 28, 2026
For example, acute myeloid leukemia—the disease that afflicted Kennedy family member Tatiana Schlossberg before she died in December—remains among the hardest to cure, frequently recurring despite intensive chemotherapy and transplantation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026
I ask Dad what afflicted means and he says, Sickness, son, and things that don’t fit.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
Meanwhile, Nieto has a plan if he identifies screwworm afflicting cattle on his southern Texas ranch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 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
I would argue that the parallel still holds, in that the fundamental crisis of democracy afflicting both countries is strikingly similar.
From Salon ● Feb. 15, 2026
Despite the tragedy afflicting me, despite not feeling well, I let out a laugh.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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.
