Crossword clues for afflict
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Afflict \Af*flict"\, p. p. & a. [L. afflictus, p. p.]
Afflicted. [Obs.]
--Becon.
Afflict \Af*flict"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Afflicted; p. pr. & vb. n. Afflicting.] [L. afflictus, p. p. of affigere to cast down, deject; ad + fligere to strike: cf. OF. aflit, afflict, p. p. Cf. Flagellate.]
To strike or cast down; to overthrow. [Obs.] ``Reassembling our afflicted powers.''
--Milton.-
To inflict some great injury or hurt upon, causing continued pain or mental distress; to trouble grievously; to torment.
They did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens.
--Exod. i. 11.That which was the worst now least afflicts me.
--Milton. -
To make low or humble. [Obs.]
--Spenser.Men are apt to prefer a prosperous error before an afflicted truth.
--Jer. Taylor.Syn: To trouble; grieve; pain; distress; harass; torment; wound; hurt.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
late 14c., "to cast down," from Old French aflicter, from Latin afflictare "to damage, harass, torment," frequentative of affligere (past participle afflictus) "to dash down, overthrow," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + fligere (past participle flictus) "to strike," from PIE root *bhlig- "to strike" (cognates: Greek phlibein "to press, crush," Czech blizna "scar," Welsh blif "catapult"). Transferred meaning of "trouble, distress," is first recorded 1530s. Related: Afflicted; afflicting.
Wiktionary
vb. 1 (context transitive English) To cause (someone) pain, suffering or distress. 2 (context obsolete English) To strike or cast down; to overthrow. 3 (context obsolete English) To make low or humble.
WordNet
Usage examples of "afflict".
She had been the leading accuser among the afflicted, naming twenty-one people as witches.
I am a well man to-day and take pleasure in advising all the afflicted to consult you at once, and feel sure they will, like myself, be well pleased with your treatment.
Samuel Parris: a concern for the afflicted, a predilection to act deliberately, and a desire to determine the truth.
Good reaffirmed her innocence, tried to shift the blame first to both of the other accused women, and then specifically claimed that it was Sarah Osborne who pinched and afflicted the children.
Even though authorities had arrested, examined, and incarcerated the accused witches, the suffering of the afflicted continued.
March, they discussed these visions, the continued fits of the afflicted, the inability of secular and religious leaders to end the crisis, and the seven unnamed witches mentioned by Tituba.
Unsure that the afflicted child had accurately named her tormentor, Putnam and Cheever devised a scheme to test her reliability.
Yet another of the afflicted, Abigail Williams, cried out against her on March 14.
With Martha Corey in attendance, the afflicted disrupted virtually the entire worship service.
She had guessed that someone would visit her about witchcraft after overhearing conversations among some children who said she afflicted and troubled people.
Five days earlier, Ann had spent most of the day caring for her afflicted daughter Ann and maid Mercy Lewis.
Before long, several of the afflicted, notably Elizabeth Hubbard, Mary Walcott, and Bethshaa Pope, either yelled accusations at Nurse or fell to the floor in fits.
Whenever Nurse moved her hands, changed the position of her head, or bent her back, the afflicted complained of being bitten, pinched, and bruised.
Most important for Rebecca Nurse, the actions of the afflicted convinced Hathorne and Corwin to place her in the Salem jail with Martha Corey.
During her brief examination, whenever Dorcas glanced at the afflicted, they said she bit them.