afflict
verb /əˈflɪkt/
/əˈflɪkt/
[often passive] (formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they afflict | /əˈflɪkt/ /əˈflɪkt/ |
| he / she / it afflicts | /əˈflɪkts/ /əˈflɪkts/ |
| past simple afflicted | /əˈflɪktɪd/ /əˈflɪktɪd/ |
| past participle afflicted | /əˈflɪktɪd/ /əˈflɪktɪd/ |
| -ing form afflicting | /əˈflɪktɪŋ/ /əˈflɪktɪŋ/ |
- to affect somebody/something in an unpleasant or harmful way
- afflict somebody/something Severe drought has afflicted the region.
- the many problems that afflict the unemployed
- Aid will be sent to the afflicted areas.
- be afflicted with something About 40 per cent of the country's population is afflicted with the disease.
- He’s badly afflicted with a skin disorder.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- badly
- severely
- be afflicted with
Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘deject, humiliate’): from Latin afflictare ‘knock about, harass’, or from afflict- ‘knocked down, weakened’: both from the verb affligere, from ad- ‘to’ + fligere ‘to strike, dash’.