as in plagues
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 afflicts
Lupus, which afflicts some five million people worldwide, is a leading cause of death among young women.
—
Jason Liebowitz, New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2026
Put simply, notaming deficits through a balance of revenue increases and lower spending, but abandoning spending discipline, the curse that afflicts Europe to this day.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 1 Mar. 2026
Hicks and her legal team allege medical personnel later diagnosed Hicks with gestational diabetes — a condition that afflicts some pregnant women — as further justification to induce her.
—Jeremy Gorner, Chicago Tribune, 28 Feb. 2026
The disease afflicts individuals as well as corporate entities.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 23 Jan. 2026
Furthermore, regulatory sclerosis afflicts housing and infrastructure.
—Veronique De Rugy, Oc Register, 25 Dec. 2025
Violence provided a solution but also birthed the recurring dilemma that afflicts African states today.
—Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
The images have become the site of a self-conscious meta-comedy about the consuming urge to post that afflicts a portion of the population.
—Paul McAdory, Them., 9 Dec. 2025
Illness and job losses left Allen Gray vulnerable to a problem that afflicts thousands of Cincinnati seniors.
—Dan Horn, Cincinnati Enquirer, 9 Nov. 2025
Jason Liebowitz, New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2026
Put simply, notaming deficits through a balance of revenue increases and lower spending, but abandoning spending discipline, the curse that afflicts Europe to this day.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 1 Mar. 2026
Hicks and her legal team allege medical personnel later diagnosed Hicks with gestational diabetes — a condition that afflicts some pregnant women — as further justification to induce her.
—Jeremy Gorner, Chicago Tribune, 28 Feb. 2026
The disease afflicts individuals as well as corporate entities.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 23 Jan. 2026
Furthermore, regulatory sclerosis afflicts housing and infrastructure.
—Veronique De Rugy, Oc Register, 25 Dec. 2025
Violence provided a solution but also birthed the recurring dilemma that afflicts African states today.
—Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
The images have become the site of a self-conscious meta-comedy about the consuming urge to post that afflicts a portion of the population.
—Paul McAdory, Them., 9 Dec. 2025
Illness and job losses left Allen Gray vulnerable to a problem that afflicts thousands of Cincinnati seniors.
—Dan Horn, Cincinnati Enquirer, 9 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for afflicts
Verb
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Shifting to the execution phase By securing graphite early, the company aims to mitigate supply chain volatility that often plagues advanced nuclear projects.—
Munis Raza,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Mar. 2026
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Greenblatt suggested that a major misconception of antisemitism that plagues universities is the idea that anti-Zionism is a political stance, rather than one of prejudice.—
Rachel Wolf,
FOXNews.com,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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China, which jails human rights activists in Hong Kong, persecutes Uyghurs, has killed hundreds of thousands of Tibetans and has committed genocide against the Falun Gong, is on the UN Human Rights Council.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
18 Feb. 2026
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In Russia, the civilian repressive apparatus persecutes the military, which leaps at every chance for revenge.—
Stephen Kotkin,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Afflicts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/afflicts. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
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