af·flict

(ə-flĭkt′)

tr.v. af·flict·ed, af·flict·ing, af·flicts

To cause grievous physical or mental suffering to.

[Middle English afflighten, from afflight, disturbed, frightened, from Latin afflīctum, past participle of afflīgere, to cast down : ad-, ad- + flīgere, to strike.]

af·flict′er n.

af·flic′tive adj.

af·flic′tive·ly adv.

Synonyms: afflict, agonize, rack¹, torment, torture
These verbs mean to bring great harm or suffering to someone: afflicted with severe arthritis; agonized to see her suffering; racked with guilt; tormented by migraine headaches; tortured by painful memories.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adj.

afflictive - causing misery or pain or distress; "it was a sore trial to him"; "the painful process of growing up"

painful, sore

unpleasant - disagreeable to the senses, to the mind, or feelings ; "an unpleasant personality"; "unpleasant repercussions"; "unpleasant odors"

afflictive

adjective

Marked by, causing, or experiencing physical pain:

aching, achy, hurtful, nagging, painful, smarting, sore.

Translations

afflittivo

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Our road lay through a wood, where we found the ground covered over with young locusts, a plague intolerably afflictive in a country so barren of itself.

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When the curtain at last fell, he burst into the stormiest applause, and kept it up--as did the whole house--until the afflictive tenor had come three times before the curtain to make his bow.

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I felt no joy but that his sister was at length released from her afflictive, overwhelming toil - no hope but that she would in time recover from the effects of it, and be suffered to rest in peace and quietness, at least, for the remainder of her life.

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In MY childhood I could not imagine a more afflictive punishment than for my mother to refuse to kiss me at night: the very idea was terrible.

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Under Article 125 of the RPC, penalties will be imposed "upon the public officer or employee who shall detain any person for some legal ground and shall fail to deliver such person to the proper judicial authorities within the period of; twelve (12) hours, for crimes or offenses punishable by light penalties, or their equivalent; eighteen (18) hours, for crimes or offenses punishable by correctional penalties, or their equivalent and thirty-six (36) hours, for crimes, or offenses punishable by afflictive or capital penalties, or their equivalent."

WellMed camp demands release of accused owner

'afflictive' punishments."); see also Kahan, supra note

Prosecuting Corporate Crime when Firms Are Too Big to Jail: Investigation, Deterrence, and Judicial Review

The afflictive and infamous character is inherent to the penalty, regardless of the perspectives surrounding it, retributive or instrumentalist, even reparatory and is, therefore, important for its economy to be covered (Kerchove, 1994: 449 and the next).

Liberalization of the Principles of Criminal Law. Towards a Postmodern Criminal Law in Romania?

The Lam Rim systematically lays out three stages to awakening: "Renunciation" (self-love, or evolutionary self-care), in which compulsions, afflictive emotions, and distortions are eliminated; "Bodhicitta" (compassion, or radical altruism), in which the mind is set upon liberation and awakening for the benefit of others; and "Wisdom" (correct view, or emptiness), in which the mind achieves direct perception of the ultimate reality of emptiness and interdependence.

Gradual Awakening; The Tibetan Buddhist Path of Becoming Fully Human

The proposed afflictive penalties are 'afflictive 1' (12 years and one day to 20 years, or the current prision temporal), and 'afflictive 2 and temporary disqualification' (6 years and one day to 12 years, or the current prision mayor).

House seeks replacement of Revised Penal Code

Ray, with a wry smile on his wrinkle-free face said, "If such a highly armored vehicle is needed to work in Somalia, should anyone really be working there?" Ray expected that his comment would entice a laugh from his colleagues but, instead, the room was engulfed in an afflictive silence.

Duty Calls: Chapter 1 of Dead Cow Road - Life on the Front Lines of an International Crisis

A phenomenological study of a Shambala Buddhist approach to working with afflictive emotions.

An examination of the impact of a college level meditation course on college student well being