as in painful
causing or feeling bodily pain
the afflictive disease known as shingles is a reactivation of the virus that causes chicken pox
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Recent Examples of afflictive
Perhaps this afflictive uncertainty can be redefined.
—
Krista Stevens, Longreads, 26 Apr. 2018
Krista Stevens, Longreads, 26 Apr. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for afflictive
Adjective
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The overstressed tissue, either along your arch or right next to your heel, can then sustain tiny tears and become irritated, inflamed, and painful.—
Cindy Kuzma,
SELF,
4 Apr. 2025
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However, Trump has described his policies as a painful yet necessary step to encourage companies to relocate their operations to the United States.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Middleton was said to be extremely sore the past few days, but considering what could have happened when Bo Horvat pushed him from behind so far from the boards, that’s relatively good news.—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2025
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Power forward Aaron Gordon was also questionable with an illness and a sore right calf.—
Jason D. Greenblatt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Somebody Somewhere is tiny: a gorgeous, introspective, intimate story about a woman with devastatingly mundane problems whose chief obstacle is her own aching sense of grief and dislocation.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
9 Dec. 2024
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In this novel about the shape-shifting nature of love, Parsons captures Kit’s grief in aching and honest terms.—
Annabel Gutterman,
TIME,
6 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Afflictive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/afflictive. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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