The disease afflicts an estimated two million people every year.
the South was afflicted by a severe drought
Recent Examples on the WebShare [Findings] A fungal parasite that afflicts the reproductive organs of millipedes was named in honor of Twitter.—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 24 Apr. 2024 Though poverty, mental health issues and addiction often afflict homeless people, the lack of affordable housing is the biggest factor in driving up the overall homelessness rate, according to specialists and research.—Noah Bierman, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2024 Symptoms broadly mimic those of dementia, although patients afflicted with Creutzfeldt-Jakob deteriorate much more quickly.—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 22 Apr. 2024 Her campaign has mostly skirted the violence afflicting Mexico and focused on the social programs that have made the current president hugely popular.—Eyder Peralta, NPR, 22 Apr. 2024 Then, in January, the mysterious ailment began afflicting smalltooth sawfish, a type of large, prehistoric-looking ray named for the look of its snout-like rostrum lined with sharp teeth.—Patricia Mazzei, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2024 These disorders are not given the serious intellectual treatment that similarly demographically prevalent disorders that do not predominantly afflict women, like addiction and depression, regularly receive.—Hannah Dylan Pasternak, SELF, 25 Mar. 2024 But the familiar tendency to take the quick route afflicted Reddit’s global push.—Paresh Dave, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2024 Perun, who neither drank nor smoked—and who had often spent his rare downtime in our apartment curling heavy dumbbells—was afflicted by a chronic cough that grew distressingly vicious as the operation progressed.—Luke Mogelson, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
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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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