as in to plague
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 afflict
But Thomas was afflicted by health troubles on the 26-56 Nets last year.
—
Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
Americans live shorter lives than their European equivalents, McClatchy News reported in April, but the trend of stagnant life expectancy appears to be afflicting European nations the same, according to the study.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2025
The World Health Organization states that in 2021 alone, nearly 57 million people were afflicted with some form of dementia.
—Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
The most vulnerable — starving children, people afflicted with leprosy, and pregnant women without the remotest possibility of healthcare — always needed tending to; that colonial reality was intact.
—Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for afflict
Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
Americans live shorter lives than their European equivalents, McClatchy News reported in April, but the trend of stagnant life expectancy appears to be afflicting European nations the same, according to the study.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2025
The World Health Organization states that in 2021 alone, nearly 57 million people were afflicted with some form of dementia.
—Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
The most vulnerable — starving children, people afflicted with leprosy, and pregnant women without the remotest possibility of healthcare — always needed tending to; that colonial reality was intact.
—Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for afflict
Recent Examples of Synonyms for afflict
Verb
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In 1988, a catastrophic heat wave and drought plagued the United States, killing thousands of people and triggering over $80 billion in damage.—
Zack Savitsky,
Quanta Magazine,
15 Sep. 2025
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Getty Images The Department of Education posted a new update on Monday on massive application backlogs plaguing several federal student loan forgiveness and repayment programs.—
Adam S. Minsky,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The former human-rights lawyer entered on a tourist visa and filed for political asylum in October of that year, claiming the governments that succeeded Correa were persecuting him.—
Syra Ortiz Blanes,
Miami Herald,
12 Sep. 2025
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The decree eliminated many of the civil liberties in Germany, opening the way for the Nazis to persecute their opponents.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Afflict.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/afflict. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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