stricken

adjective

strick·​en ˈstri-kən How to pronounce stricken (audio)
1
a
: afflicted or overwhelmed by or as if by disease, misfortune, or sorrow
b
: made incapable or unfit
rescuers were sent to the stricken ship
2
: hit or wounded by or as if by a missile
the deer had been stricken by an arrow

Examples of stricken in a Sentence

I saw her stricken face looking up at us.
Recent Examples on the Web There was no such relief, however, for struggling households and the stricken property sector. Christian Shepherd, Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2024 Dramatic photographs of the aftermath showed the bridge split in two with the large stricken ship stationary under the structure. Chris Lau, CNN, 22 Feb. 2024 The Carney and other coalition ships responded and were rendering assistance toward the stricken ship. Jon Gambrell, Fortune, 27 Jan. 2024 As Harris announced her ruling, Griffin let out a loud groan and banged his forehead on the defense table before leaning back in his chair and staring at the ceiling of the courtroom, a stricken look on his face. Dale Ellis, arkansasonline.com, 20 Dec. 2023 Adrift offshore were a plethora of stricken yachts, some overturned, others displaying deep gashes; masts, motors and radio equipment were squished together with coconuts, fishing lines, palm fronds and other maritime detritus. Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 13 Nov. 2023 The founder of stricken crypto exchange FTX has endured three weeks of bruising testimony in federal court from ex-colleagues, peers, and other witnesses. WIRED, 25 Oct. 2023 People took to the streets late Tuesday, soon after images spread of stricken Palestinians at al-Ahli Hospital. Mohamad El Chamaa, Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2023 At a news conference in the stricken city, Mr. Sour said prosecutors would investigate the collapse of the two dams, as well as the allocation of maintenance funds. Samy Magdy, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stricken.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English striken, from past participle of striken to strike

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of stricken was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near stricken

Cite this Entry

“Stricken.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stricken. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

stricken

adjective
strick·​en ˈstrik-ən How to pronounce stricken (audio)
1
: troubled with disease, misfortune, or sorrow
2
: hit or wounded by or as if by an object that was thrown

More from Merriam-Webster on stricken

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