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
Arkansas Online, 29 Jan. 2026
Officials in states afflicted with severe cold reported at least 50 deaths.
—Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 28 Jan. 2026
And at least 50 people had been reported dead in states afflicted by the dangerous cold.
—Russ Bynum, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2026
At least 30 deaths have been reported in states afflicted with severe cold, including two people run over by snowplows in Massachusetts and Ohio, fatal sledding accidents that killed teenagers in Arkansas and Texas, and a woman whose body was found covered in snow in Kansas.
—Dallas Morning News, 27 Jan. 2026
In 2004, Fox and Ford were photographed shaking hands at a charity event where Nancy Reagan advocated for stem cell research in finding a cure for illnesses like Alzheimer’s, which afflicted her husband, Ronald.
—Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 27 Jan. 2026
Given the housing shortage that’s afflicted the whole country, the state, in 2024, revised the Postcard Law to allow for more construction, at least in certain areas.
—Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026
Eddie Vedder and his wife Jill founded the EB Research Partnership (EBRP) in 2010, a nonprofit dedicated to funding research to treat and cure the life-threatening disease, one that afflicted the child of Jill’s childhood friend.
—Peter White, Deadline, 16 Jan. 2026
Support for Bass is more mixed, with her current record containing many more failures than have afflicted either Lurie or any other recent Los Angeles mayor.
—Thomas Elias, Mercury News, 16 Jan. 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
At least 50 people had been reported dead in states afflicted by the dangerous cold.
—Arkansas Online, 29 Jan. 2026
Officials in states afflicted with severe cold reported at least 50 deaths.
—Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 28 Jan. 2026
And at least 50 people had been reported dead in states afflicted by the dangerous cold.
—Russ Bynum, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2026
At least 30 deaths have been reported in states afflicted with severe cold, including two people run over by snowplows in Massachusetts and Ohio, fatal sledding accidents that killed teenagers in Arkansas and Texas, and a woman whose body was found covered in snow in Kansas.
—Dallas Morning News, 27 Jan. 2026
In 2004, Fox and Ford were photographed shaking hands at a charity event where Nancy Reagan advocated for stem cell research in finding a cure for illnesses like Alzheimer’s, which afflicted her husband, Ronald.
—Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 27 Jan. 2026
Given the housing shortage that’s afflicted the whole country, the state, in 2024, revised the Postcard Law to allow for more construction, at least in certain areas.
—Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026
Eddie Vedder and his wife Jill founded the EB Research Partnership (EBRP) in 2010, a nonprofit dedicated to funding research to treat and cure the life-threatening disease, one that afflicted the child of Jill’s childhood friend.
—Peter White, Deadline, 16 Jan. 2026
Support for Bass is more mixed, with her current record containing many more failures than have afflicted either Lurie or any other recent Los Angeles mayor.
—Thomas Elias, Mercury News, 16 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for afflicted
Adjective
-
Instead, the 35-year-old is shifting gears by turning her troubled past into a new trade.—
Jermont Terry,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
-
An English boarding school for troubled boys is the backdrop of this quiet yet accomplished début novel, set in 1976.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
And the Rams were unable to overcome a special teams miscue, a theme that plagued them throughout the season.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Rodman was plagued by injury in 2025, using the first half of the year to recover from a lingering back issue.—
Melanie Anzidei,
New York Times,
25 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Mattarella condemned the complicity of ordinary Italians in the fascist-era racial laws, which persecuted Italy’s Jewish community, and deportation of its Jews.—
Vanessa Gera,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The Kurds have been marginalized, persecuted and slaughtered by the likes of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and before those states existed, the Ottoman Empire.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
New Orleans makes sense for disabled people, beyond just the infrastructure.—
Sophie Morgan,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Last month, complaints pushed his office to audit two years' worth of applications for disabled parking permits.—
Larry Seward,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The regime imprisoned Nejati and reportedly tortured him.—
Benjamin Weinthal,
FOXNews.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
And so even people who were heroes of the nation, they were beaten, tortured, taken for reeducation.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
That said, international filmmaking is in feeble shape, partly because of the jambalaya of international co-productions, partly because of the inroads of television aesthetics, and partly because of the cloistered aestheticism of self-conscious art-house cinema.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
22 Jan. 2026
-
The feeble job market may be keeping wage growth subdued, some economists point out.—
George Avalos,
Mercury News,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The militants at the time besieged it for months before being pushed back.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
23 Jan. 2026
-
To watch Herbert’s film is like watching a report on a place that has subsequently been besieged.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
Executive orders that are constitutionally infirm; unwarranted attacks on public sector employees; taxation policy favoring the ultra-wealthy.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Afflicted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/afflicted. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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