afflict

[uh-flikt] /əˈflɪkt/

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.

Origin

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

Related forms

afflictedness, noun

afflicter, noun

overafflict, verb (used with object)

preafflict, verb (used with object)

self-afflicting, adjective

unafflicted, adjective

unafflictedly, adverb

unafflictedness, noun

unafflicting, adjective

Can be confused

afflict, infect, inflict.

Synonyms

1. vex, harass, torment, plague.

Examples from the web for afflicted

Healing the afflicted is not merely a matter of compassion.
But oxygen levels are unusually low, and run especially deep, in the afflicted area.
This novel's central figure is a woman ostensibly afflicted with hyperthymia — an excess of happiness.
The culture of poets in the academy can be afflicted by similar demarcations.
Yet given the chance, even tribes afflicted by disease and development can recover.
In China brownouts, caused by a shortage of coal, afflicted the country.
The afflicted were offered small stipends to confine themselves to the containment center, preventing further contamination.
Their immediate goal is limited to healing children afflicted with Batten disease, a rare but fatal neurodegenerative disorder.
But it has afflicted a greater portion of the population.
So far, no serious food-borne illness has afflicted us.

British Dictionary definitions for afflicted

afflict

/əˈflɪkt/

verb

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

Derived Forms

afflictive, adjective

Word Origin

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

Word Origin and History for afflicted

"person or persons in constant suffering of body or mind," 1650s, noun use of past participle adjective from 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.