Afflation
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A blowing or breathing on.
"At 100 ° F. and in a perfectly damp atmosphere, there occurs an absolute stagnation of the air surrounding the living body: but as air of that temperature is never naturally saturated with moisture. afflation still affords relief by applying air capable of dissolving the animal perspiration, and thus occasioning an absorption of heat from the body."
- 2 Spiritual inspiration.
"but on the other side, the frequent testimonies of the Spirit's revealing by way of prophetic afflation, who should be set appart for the offices of the church, are evidences that it was so here."
- 3 Enthusiasm; strength of feeling; emotionality.
"These Memoirs are introduced by a Preface written by the Author's brother, with considerable elegance and feeling, though by no means devoid of that afflation of style and display of sentiment, which are the great defects of modern Irish eloquence.·"
- 4 A pneumotoxic infection.
"Regarding the afflation of pharyngeal lymphoids, simple as all agree that this is in skilled hands, opinions differ widely as to the best technique."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"At 100 ° F. and in a perfectly damp atmosphere, there occurs an absolute stagnation of the air surrounding the living body: but as air of that temperature is never naturally saturated with moisture. afflation still affords relief by applying air capable of dissolving the animal perspiration, and thus occasioning an absorption of heat from the body."
Etymology
From Latin afflatus, past participle of afflare (“to blow or breathe on”), from ad + flare (“to blow”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.