afflict

From Middle English afflicten (attested in past participle afflicte), from Latin afflictāre (“to damage, harass, torment”), frequentative of affligere (“to dash down, overthrow”). See also af-.

• IPA^(key): /əˈflɪkt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪkt
• Hyphenation: af‧flict

afflict (third-person singular simple present afflicts, present participle afflicting, simple past and past participle afflicted)

1. (transitive) To cause (someone) pain, suffering or distress.

   Synonyms: torment, torture, smite; see also Thesaurus:hurt, Thesaurus:vex

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 1:11–12:

     Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Leviticus 23:27:

     Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.

   • 1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, →OCLC, page 41:

     [T]he wench was afflicted with religion and unapproachably austere.

   • 1958 June, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 412:

     To me it seems that extensive investment in relatively low-powered units may have the same ultimate result of motive power shortage as that which afflicts the London Midland Region today, and which has compelled the re-engining of some of the earlier multiple-unit diesel train sets.

   • 1997 April 7, Jonathan Rabinovitz, “Hearing Held on Bid to Repress Lawyers in Murder Case”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 July 2014:

     While the defense lawyers have likened the condition to the post traumatic stress disorders afflicting war veterans and battered women, which have been used in other insanity defense cases, they have said that they know of no previous trials when a "black rage" defense has been raised.

2. (obsolete) To strike or cast down; to overthrow; to result.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     reassembling our afflicted powers

3. (obsolete) To make low or humble.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

     The Argument of mine afflicted stile

   • 1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Francis Ashe […], →OCLC:

     Men are apt to prefer a prosperous error before an afflicted truth.

• affliction
• afflictive

• IPA^(key): /əˈflɪk(t)/

afflict (third-person singular simple present afflicts, present participle afflictin, simple past and past participle afflictit)

1. to afflict

• Eagle, Andy, ed. (2016) The Online Scots Dictionary, Scots Online.