afflicted

American  

[uh-flik-tid] / əˈflɪk tɪd /

adjective

1. greatly distressed or troubled by bodily or mental pain.

   The severity of these symptoms predicts how well the afflicted individuals can live independently and maintain employment.

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noun

(used with a singular or plural verb)

1. Usually the afflicted a person or persons distressed or troubled in such a way.

   Behind each of these killer diseases is the pain of despair, loneliness, and loss in the lives of the bereaved and the afflicted.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of afflict.

Other Word Forms

• afflictedness noun
• unafflicted adjective
• unafflictedly adverb
• unafflictedness noun

Etymology

Origin of afflicted

afflict ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

This partly explains, Cembalest writes, the deindustrialization that has afflicted its economy so debilitatingly in the last few years.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 9, 2026

The team have worked at finding ways to prevent the vibrations from the engine leading to failures in the batteries in the engine's hybrid system, which afflicted them during pre-season testing.

From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026

He was probably afflicted by epilepsy, a condition that usually went unnamed to avoid public shame.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

Alouette’s attempts to reclaim her work result in her consignment to Salpetrière, a much-dreaded place for the mentally afflicted, where the cruel guards may or may not be saner than the inmates.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 4, 2026

Ferula took him by the arm and led him out of that afflicted room.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende

Related Words

• depressed
• stricken