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
Recent research finds a similar curse afflicts National Football League teams that compete to acquire one of the top picks in its annual draft of new players.
—
Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2025
Motion sickness afflicts one in three adults and one in two children.
—Eric D. Lawrence, USA Today, 9 Oct. 2025
Although there have been recent breakthroughs in the treatment of Alzheimer’s, no medication has succeeded in stopping or reversing the disease that afflicts more than 7 million Americans, a number projected to reach almost 13 million by 2050, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
—The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Aug. 2025
And the same problem afflicts electronic cigarettes, which have been blowing up in people’s faces sporadically.
—Weiyang Li, IEEE Spectrum, 23 Aug. 2018
Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2025
Motion sickness afflicts one in three adults and one in two children.
—Eric D. Lawrence, USA Today, 9 Oct. 2025
Although there have been recent breakthroughs in the treatment of Alzheimer’s, no medication has succeeded in stopping or reversing the disease that afflicts more than 7 million Americans, a number projected to reach almost 13 million by 2050, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
—The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Aug. 2025
And the same problem afflicts electronic cigarettes, which have been blowing up in people’s faces sporadically.
—Weiyang Li, IEEE Spectrum, 23 Aug. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for afflicts
plagues
Verb
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When an unexpected event takes him back to his hometown, he is reunited with his mother and old friends but also confronted by the corruption that plagues his country, sparking a political awakening.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
20 Oct. 2025
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Chapman’s tenure at the SBC Executive Committee from 1992 to 2009 encountered similar economic and political headwinds that plagues the SBC today, yet many Southern Baptists remember that time for Chapman’s determination to push past those hurdles for the sake of growing local churches.—
Liam Adams,
Nashville Tennessean,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Afflicts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/afflicts. Accessed 27 Oct. 2025.
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