as in painful
causing or feeling bodily pain
the afflictive disease known as shingles is a reactivation of the virus that causes chicken pox
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of afflictive
Perhaps this afflictive uncertainty can be redefined.
—
Krista Stevens, Longreads, 26 Apr. 2018
Krista Stevens, Longreads, 26 Apr. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for afflictive
Adjective
-
One of the happy accidents that occurred as a result of not getting a pickup, which was very painful in 2005, was the opportunity to come back in 2014 and look at a much bigger picture.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
22 Mar. 2026
-
UConn ended Boston College’s hockey season in the most painful of ways on Friday at the Garden in the Hockey East semifinal.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
21 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Brandin Podziemski scored 25 and Gui Santos had 22, while Quinten Post returned from a sore ankle to score 20.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
16 Mar. 2026
-
With Anthony Edwards laboring because of a sore right knee, Randle and Ayo Dosunmu stepped in to pick up the scoring slack.—
Jon Krawczynski,
New York Times,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The dramatic and aching second movement, according to Egarr, may have been a love letter to one of Beethoven’s romantic interests.—
Sheila Regan,
Twin Cities,
21 Feb. 2026
-
And no matter what the ultimate tally, every individual is an aching, terrible loss.—
Arash Azizi,
The Atlantic,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Afflictive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/afflictive. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
