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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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
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The result is the year’s most daring TV performance, rooted in a painful, just barely recognizable humanity.—
Daniel D'Addario,
Variety,
30 Sep. 2025
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The company said its offering, akin to online tax preparation software, could help students maximize financial aid while making the application process less painful.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The wife noted that her broken arm is still sore.—
Brian Anthony Hernandez,
PEOPLE,
4 Oct. 2025
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Max Strus is already out for the first part of the season after an offseason Jones fracture, while presumptive starting forward De’Andre Hunter has never played more than 67 games in a season, and his persistently sore knees require constant monitoring.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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In this aching, unorthodox historical drama, Davies tells the story of the pacifist poet and veteran Siegfried Sassoon, whose experiences fighting in the First World War forever transformed him.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
5 Aug. 2025
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Braxton shares an aching need to be vulnerable only to realize by album’s end that such unions can result in horrible betrayal, her words of lament surrounded by swelling, lush orchestration.—
Clarence A. Haynes
July 3,
Literary Hub,
3 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Afflictive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/afflictive. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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