The disease afflicts an estimated two million people every year.
the South was afflicted by a severe drought
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The Lakers were down LeBron James, afflicted by nerve pain.—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 13 Oct. 2025 Bicycles ignore the real tangible problems that afflict us.—Joe Soucheray, Twin Cities, 12 Oct. 2025 The narrative takes a darker turn when a family member becomes supernaturally afflicted after witnessing a death, prompting a desperate search for spiritual intervention.—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 9 Oct. 2025 Motion sickness afflicts one in three adults and one in two children.—Eric D. Lawrence, USA Today, 9 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for afflict
Word History
Etymology
Middle English afflihten "to excite, become distressed," probably verbal derivative of affliht, aflyght "disturbed, upset," borrowed from Latin afflīctus, past participle of afflīgere "to knock or strike down, ruin, distress severely," from ad-ad- + flīgere "to strike down" — more at profligate entry 1
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