as in painful
causing or feeling bodily pain
the afflictive disease known as shingles is a reactivation of the virus that causes chicken pox
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for afflictive
Adjective
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And that says something painful about what my country has become, and my place in it.
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For thousands of Venezuelans, however, the absence of definitive answers has become one of the tragedy’s most painful consequences.
Adjective
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Near the middle of the group stands a pint-size teenage Vicky, pale and bleach-blond, sticking out like a sore thumb.
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Behind her stood an image of a rendering of a permanent memorial honoring the 98 collapse victims that has yet to materialize, a sore subject that was mentioned several times during the event, along with condolences, family memories and words of encouragement.
Adjective
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The homestretch of the drama, however, takes the story in a chilling direction, packing an aching quantity of feeling into a single glance at a security camera as someone climbs into a car and leaves the compound, never to be heard from again.
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Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain (1997) Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain is an aching, tender slow burn shaped by absence.
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“Afflictive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/afflictive. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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