The disease afflicts an estimated two million people every year.
the South was afflicted by a severe drought
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Those who dismissed intersectionality saw such policies as little more than allowing the disadvantaged to commit crimes without consequences to make up for past inequities, afflicting crime victims from the same disadvantaged communities.—John Scott Lewinski, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025 Griffin, who does clinical work in Long Island, New York, said his sister-in-law is in her 40s and quite wary of long COVID, the enduring, debilitating health issues that have afflicted millions of Americans who contracted the coronavirus.—Jorge L. Ortiz, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2025 But Thomas was afflicted by health troubles on the 26-56 Nets last year.—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025 Americans live shorter lives than their European equivalents, McClatchy News reported in April, but the trend of stagnant life expectancy appears to be afflicting European nations the same, according to the study.—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 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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