Afflate

verb

verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To fill, especially with divine inspiration. obsolete

    "There was[…]a “spirit of courage” breathed into his [sc. Luther's] being, of which the heroism of this world knows nothing. Nor may we question that the same afflating influence could have wrought an equal boldness in creatures whose constitutional timidity was excessive and effeminate."

Example

More examples

"There was[…]a “spirit of courage” breathed into his [sc. Luther's] being, of which the heroism of this world knows nothing. Nor may we question that the same afflating influence could have wrought an equal boldness in creatures whose constitutional timidity was excessive and effeminate."

Etymology

From Latin afflātus, perfect passive participle of afflō (“to blow or breathe on or towards”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.