126. Afflict

From, “Fatal Stampede in South Africa Points Up University Crisis,” by Lydia Polgreen, 1/10/12, The New York Times:

“They lined up well before dawn, some driving from the deep countryside with bags of fluffy blankets and neatly packed sandwiches, to wait for the gates to a new life to open. They hoped for a shot at a coveted spot at one of South Africa’s public universities, and with it a chance to escape the indignity of joblessness that afflicts more than a third of the nation. By morning, the line was more than a mile long.”

Afflict: To inflict grievous physical or mental suffering on