as in troubled
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as in plagued
to cause persistent suffering to
the South was afflicted by a severe drought he's been afflicted by nightmares ever since the accident
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Recent Examples of afflicted
David Reamer, Anchorage Daily News, 12 June 2022
For nearly five years, the lingering hope of the pundit class (and, notably, the Biden campaign) was that the Trump fever would eventually burn itself out and those so afflicted would awake from its throes eager to be normal again.
—Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 6 Jan. 2022
Regarding Cuba now, there seems to be an additional Russian objective: weakening U.S. and Canadian intelligence on the island by forcing the evacuation of afflicted spies and diplomatic personnel.
—Néstor T. Carbonell, National Review, 12 Apr. 2021
Some of the bikers pouring into the area are coming from distant states far more afflicted.
—CBS News, 10 Aug. 2020
Kroger officials said McMullen had planned to remove his mask for the event, which was not attended by Pence's afflicted press secretary Katie Miller who stayed in Washington.
—Alexander Coolidge, Cincinnati.com, 11 May 2020
Symptoms of the illness are similar to pneumonia, although videos have been posted that purportedly show afflicted people collapsing on the street, bleeding from their mouths, and being treated by doctors wearing hazmat suits.
—Zachary Halaschak, Washington Examiner, 25 Jan. 2020
Mealy bugs can be a real problem, not just for the afflicted plant but for neighboring, healthy houseplants.
—Adrian Higgins, Washington Post, 13 Aug. 2019
Making a compelling financial case to fight climate change and to help the most afflicted demands a rigorous accounting of its effects.
—Umair Irfan, Vox, 9 Oct. 2018
Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2026
The disease afflicted homosexuals, Haitians, haemophiliacs and heroin addicts.
—Literary Hub, 16 Mar. 2026
The Warriors are now 5-11 without Steph Curry, who sat courtside while afflicted with runner’s knee, and losers of four in a row.
—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2026
In New Zealand, Māori men are famously afflicted — by their eighties, nearly half may have (or have had) gout.
—Jan Steyn, The Dial, 10 Mar. 2026
Cabbages are afflicted by cabbage webworms, cabbage white moths, cabbage loopers, and other worms.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 6 Mar. 2026
Instead, each statement is afflicted by a delinquent modifier.
—Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2026
Those who aren’t afflicted by the syndrome might think dark thoughts, but they are kept buttoned up.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 23 Feb. 2026
Costco's popular rotisserie chicken is at the center of another lawsuit, this one claiming that a chicken processing plant in Nebraska is afflicted by salmonella contamination, possibly affecting hundreds of millions of the birds sold through the warehouses.
—Cheryl V. Jackson, Louisville Courier Journal, 20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
The afflicted man instead went to a Dawson hospital, where he was fed only raw potatoes and charged $10 a day for the privilege.
—David Reamer, Anchorage Daily News, 12 June 2022
For nearly five years, the lingering hope of the pundit class (and, notably, the Biden campaign) was that the Trump fever would eventually burn itself out and those so afflicted would awake from its throes eager to be normal again.
—Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 6 Jan. 2022
Regarding Cuba now, there seems to be an additional Russian objective: weakening U.S. and Canadian intelligence on the island by forcing the evacuation of afflicted spies and diplomatic personnel.
—Néstor T. Carbonell, National Review, 12 Apr. 2021
Some of the bikers pouring into the area are coming from distant states far more afflicted.
—CBS News, 10 Aug. 2020
Kroger officials said McMullen had planned to remove his mask for the event, which was not attended by Pence's afflicted press secretary Katie Miller who stayed in Washington.
—Alexander Coolidge, Cincinnati.com, 11 May 2020
Symptoms of the illness are similar to pneumonia, although videos have been posted that purportedly show afflicted people collapsing on the street, bleeding from their mouths, and being treated by doctors wearing hazmat suits.
—Zachary Halaschak, Washington Examiner, 25 Jan. 2020
Mealy bugs can be a real problem, not just for the afflicted plant but for neighboring, healthy houseplants.
—Adrian Higgins, Washington Post, 13 Aug. 2019
Making a compelling financial case to fight climate change and to help the most afflicted demands a rigorous accounting of its effects.
—Umair Irfan, Vox, 9 Oct. 2018
Verb
The outcome will likely transform the already heated debate over social media addiction as a concept, what role apps may play in engineering it, and whether individuals like Kaley can prove they’re afflicted.
—Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2026
The disease afflicted homosexuals, Haitians, haemophiliacs and heroin addicts.
—Literary Hub, 16 Mar. 2026
The Warriors are now 5-11 without Steph Curry, who sat courtside while afflicted with runner’s knee, and losers of four in a row.
—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2026
In New Zealand, Māori men are famously afflicted — by their eighties, nearly half may have (or have had) gout.
—Jan Steyn, The Dial, 10 Mar. 2026
Cabbages are afflicted by cabbage webworms, cabbage white moths, cabbage loopers, and other worms.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 6 Mar. 2026
Instead, each statement is afflicted by a delinquent modifier.
—Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2026
Those who aren’t afflicted by the syndrome might think dark thoughts, but they are kept buttoned up.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 23 Feb. 2026
Costco's popular rotisserie chicken is at the center of another lawsuit, this one claiming that a chicken processing plant in Nebraska is afflicted by salmonella contamination, possibly affecting hundreds of millions of the birds sold through the warehouses.
—Cheryl V. Jackson, Louisville Courier Journal, 20 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for afflicted
Adjective
-
In the past decade, his more scattershot discography has similarly seemed to reflect his troubled state of mind.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Azabal plays Layal, a tightly wound Arabic professor whose troubled teenage son Daniel (Zolghadri) is expelled from high school, prompting her to escort him from Indiana to California to live with his estranged father.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
But as these researchers are the first to admit, the difficulty of defining intelligence is as old as the study of thinking itself—and has plagued artificial intelligence as a field from its very earliest days.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
30 Mar. 2026
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The broader transportation program was also plagued with allegations of fraud in 2023 -- shortly after HCPF, relying on an apparently faulty analysis, recommended a significant increase in reimbursement rates in that service.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The Eduiot site includes photographs and audiovisual material, and features the accounts of parents, siblings, cousins, nephews and nieces of Jews persecuted and disappeared under the dictatorship.—
Juan Melamed,
Sun Sentinel,
31 Mar. 2026
-
The helpless and much persecuted turtles were cooked in a rich, creamy soup with chunks of meat.—
James Stout,
Outside,
29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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In Los Angeles, activists have documented robots overturned or disabled in public spaces.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Mar. 2026
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Today, Rancho Cordova offers multiple affordable housing options, including Mather Veterans Village for homeless and disabled veterans in the Sacramento region.—
Camryn Dadey,
Sacbee.com,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The Aquarion sale has had a long and tortured regulatory history, having been first proposed during a bitter, years-long standoff between the utility industry and former PURA Chairman Marissa Gillett.—
Edmund H. Mahony,
Hartford Courant,
25 Mar. 2026
-
But Saleh has carved out a unique place for himself as an avatar for restrained, tortured, and resilient Arab male dignity.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Congress has for the most part registered only feeble and ineffective opposition to such executive action.—
Sarah Burns,
The Conversation,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Scratches above the dead body reach upward, marks that read as feeble attempts to cling to some semblance of life.—
Anel Rakhimzhanova,
Artforum,
1 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Early on, the Biden team had been besieged with desperate pleas to ship more of the then scarce vaccine.—
David Blumenthal,
STAT,
24 Mar. 2026
-
When news circulated about the gathering, Temple Emanu-El was besieged with inquiries from the local media.—
Joshua M. Davidson,
New York Daily News,
22 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Earlier this month, Nancy Guthrie, the elderly and infirm mother of Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, was violently taken from her home in Tucson, Arizona.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Feb. 2026
-
The four Democratic members of the JBC, which controls the state budget, asked with growing consternation why the Department of Corrections hadn’t brought them a plan to address overcrowding, to step up releases of old and infirm inmates, or to improve its own shortcomings.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
22 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Afflicted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/afflicted. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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