stricken

To be stricken by something—like illness, grief, or disaster—means to be powerfully and negatively impacted by it. It suggests a sudden, forceful blow that leaves someone devastated. You might say a town was stricken by a hurricane, or a family was stricken with sorrow after a loss.

The word carries more weight than simply being affected; it implies vulnerability and a deep emotional or physical toll. Think of someone left speechless with shock because the news has hit them so hard. It is a term often used in contexts involving tragedy, suffering, or serious hardship.

Imagine a mighty oak tree suddenly struck by lightning. The impact is immediate and devastating, leaving visible scars and weakening its very foundation. That image captures the essence of the word stricken. To be stricken means to be powerfully hit by something—usually something negative like disease, disaster, grief, or shock. It's more than just being impacted; it suggests a forceful blow that leaves someone deeply vulnerable and profoundly changed.

Historically an older past participle of the verb "strike," stricken retains the sense of being "smitten" or "hit" with force. You might read about communities stricken by famine, individuals stricken with a rare illness, or a landscape stricken by drought. It is also frequently found in compound adjectives like poverty-stricken or grief-stricken, which describe a person or place heavily burdened by a particular hardship.

The word is equally powerful when describing emotional states: "She was utterly stricken by the news of the accident." It implies a level of distress that is almost paralyzing, leaving one feeling helpless. In specific formal contexts, such as a courtroom or in editing, the word can mean to be removed or deleted, as in "stricken from the record." In most everyday uses, it suggests being badly affected by something serious and painful; in formal use, it can simply mean that something has been removed.