1. a person or thing that causes pain, suffering, or distress
Usage: formal or literary; often used in religious or philosophical contexts

Examples

• The disease became an afflicter of the entire community.
• In the novel, the villain serves as the afflicter of the protagonist's misfortune.
• Poverty is a persistent afflicter of developing nations.
• The afflicter of his conscience was the memory of his past mistakes.
• Religious texts often describe suffering as coming from an unseen afflicter.