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Suffix · forms adjectives

-stricken

Forms adjectives describing someone or something severely affected by an emotion, condition, or calamity: poverty-stricken, grief-stricken, panic-stricken, awe-stricken, drought-stricken.

In Spanish: abatido por / azotado porLiterary

Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated June 2026

What does -stricken express?

-stricken comes from the past participle of "strike" (to hit). A compound with -stricken describes someone or something that has been "struck" or "hit" by something with force, generally in a severe or incapacitating way: Emotions or internal states: • grief-stricken = devastated by grief or sorrow • panic-stricken = paralysed by panic • awe-stricken = paralysed or silenced by awe • terror-stricken = paralysed by terror • conscience-stricken = tormented by guilt External or social conditions: • poverty-stricken = severely affected by poverty • drought-stricken = severely affected by drought • disease-stricken = severely affected by disease • war-stricken = devastated by war

-stricken vs -ridden: a key distinction

Both -stricken and -ridden form adjectives describing a negative condition, but with an important nuance: • -stricken implies a sudden blow, an acute impact: "panic-stricken" suggests the panic that paralyses in a specific moment; "grief-stricken" suggests sharp pain after a loss. • -ridden implies something chronic and persistent, "riding" the person or place continuously: "guilt-ridden" suggests guilt that persists over time; "debt-ridden" suggests accumulated debts. In practice the distinction is not always absolute, but "poverty-stricken" tends to evoke a severe and acute condition, while "debt-ridden" suggests an accumulated, ongoing situation.

Awe-stricken: the sublime and the superhuman

"Awe-stricken" and its more common synonym "awestruck" describe the state of someone left speechless or motionless before something of greatness or superhuman power. "Awe" is not mere surprise: it is a blend of admiration and fear before something that exceeds human comprehension. In literary and religious English, "awe-stricken" appears before natural phenomena, works of art, divine appearances, or acts of exceptional power: "The travelers stood awe-stricken before the vast canyon." It is one of the most emotionally and literarily charged compounds in English.

How it is pronounced

-stricken/ˈstrɪkən/ · sounds like "stricken"

Tap the button to hear how the ending sounds. Each word in the table has its own audio.

Examples

Base word
With -stricken
In a phrase
  • povertypoverty-strickenThe poverty-stricken region had no running water or electricity.
  • griefgrief-strickenThe grief-stricken widow could barely speak at the funeral.
  • panicpanic-strickenThe panic-stricken crowd rushed toward the exits.
  • aweawe-strickenThe travelers stood awe-stricken before the vast, silent canyon.
  • terrorterror-strickenThe terror-stricken child hid under the bed during the storm.
  • conscienceconscience-strickenConscience-stricken, he returned the money he had stolen.
  • droughtdrought-strickenAid workers arrived in the drought-stricken region.
  • diseasedisease-strickenThe disease-stricken village had been cut off from the outside world.

Common mistakes

poverty stricken (no hyphen)
poverty-stricken (hyphenated)

-stricken compounds take a hyphen when used as pre-noun adjectives: "a poverty-stricken region." Without a following noun: "the region was poverty-stricken."

stricken by panic = panic-stricken
they are different constructions

"Panic-stricken" (adjective compound) and "stricken by panic" (passive construction) are both correct but distinct. Do not say "panic-stricken by panic" — that is redundant.

A trick to remember it

Learn the most frequent: "poverty-stricken" (indispensable in journalism on poverty), "grief-stricken" (in obituaries, novels, emotional reportage), "panic-stricken" (in crisis reporting). In literature, "awe-stricken" elevates the tone to an almost sublime register. All of them deliver more force and precision than "very poor" or "very scared."

Practise what you learned

Exercise 1 · Form the word

Fill in: "The ___ family had no food or shelter after the flood." (severely affected by poverty)

Hint: Poverty + stricken: struck by poverty.

Exercise 2 · Pick the right one

"The panic-stricken crowd rushed toward the exits." What does "panic-stricken" describe?

Exercise 3 · Form the word

Fill in: "She was ___ after learning of her father's death." (devastated by grief)

Hint: Grief + stricken: struck by sorrow and pain.

Frequently asked questions

What does the suffix -stricken mean in English?

The suffix -stricken forms adjectives describing someone or something severely affected by an emotion, condition, or calamity: poverty-stricken, grief-stricken, panic-stricken, awe-stricken, drought-stricken. In Spanish it usually maps to abatido por / azotado por.

How do you pronounce -stricken?

The ending -stricken is pronounced /ˈstrɪkən/ · sounds like "stricken". For example, "poverty-stricken".

Can you give an example of a word with -stricken?

"poverty" becomes "poverty-stricken". It is a typical example of the -stricken suffix.

Other useful suffixes

  • -born

    From Old English "boren" (born): forms adjectives of birth condition, origin or destiny. Firstborn, highborn, stillborn, freeborn, newborn.

  • -ridden

    Forms adjectives describing something persistently dominated or plagued by something negative: guilt-ridden, debt-ridden, crime-ridden, anxiety-ridden, corruption-ridden.

  • -struck

    Forms adjectives describing someone suddenly and intensely affected: awestruck, thunderstruck, starstruck, dumbstruck, moonstruck, horror-struck.

Learn every English suffix

-tion, -ness, -ful, -ly, -able... every ending you need to understand thousands of words at once.

View all suffixes
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