inflict

[ in-flikt ]

/ ɪnˈflɪkt /

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See synonyms for: inflict / inflicted / inflicts on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to impose as something that must be borne or suffered: to inflict punishment.

to impose (anything unwelcome): The regime inflicted burdensome taxes on the people.

to deal or deliver, as a blow.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of inflict

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin inflīctus, past participle of inflīgere “to strike or dash against,” equivalent to in- “in” + flīg- (stem of flīgere “to beat down”) + -tus past participle suffix; see in-²

OTHER WORDS FROM inflict

in·flict·a·ble, adjectivein·flict·er, in·flic·tor, nounin·flic·tive, adjectivepre·in·flict, verb (used with object)

un·in·flict·ed, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH inflict

afflict, infect, inflict

Words nearby inflict

inflection, inflectional, inflection point, inflexed, inflexible, inflict, infliction, in-flight, inflorescence, inflow, influence

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use inflict in a sentence

The GRU has been tied to more than a decade of advanced hacking campaigns, including several that have inflicted serious damage to national security.
Russian state hackers are targeting Biden and Trump campaigns, MSFT warns|Dan Goodin|September 11, 2020|Ars Technica
Wall Street has proven to be one of the biggest enemies of working people, but the Democratic Party’s 2020 platform mentions Wall Street only four times, with zero mention of the pain private equity firms like THL inflict on communities like mine.
Why the Democratic Party must make a clean break with Wall Street|matthewheimer|September 8, 2020|Fortune
Hong Kong activists say that Cellebrite’s tech is “used to inflict terrorism on the city’s residents and to attack demonstrators and pro-democracy activists.”
Israeli phone hacking company faces court fight over sales to Hong Kong|Patrick O'Neill|August 25, 2020|MIT Technology Review
They all stood a good chance to recover from their self-inflicted SEO hangover, even to improve their organic search performance significantly beyond what was deemed their SERP ceiling in the past.
SEO horror stories: Here’s what not to do|Kaspar Szymanski|August 24, 2020|Search Engine Land

It looks like she saw the harm such a policy was inflicting, and on her own, she fixed it.
OPINION: Looking at Kamala Harris’ record on trans and progressive issues — the facts matter|Rachael Rose Luckey|August 19, 2020|Washington Blade
The rise of ISIS has revealed the horrors that people are willing to inflict upon one another.
All Aboard the USS Persecution Complex|Candida Moss, Joel Baden|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
These targets would be selected for the pain and difficulty they would inflict on the ISIS leadership.
Airstrikes Against ISIS Are Tactics. Here's a Strategy|Daniel L. Davis|September 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Most of all, how could anyone film—or inflict upon viewers—such gratuitous, relentlessly grubby sexual content?
Why ‘Girls’ Is Bad for Women|Emma Woolf|March 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So cutting off the petro-Euros flowing back to Russia would inflict at least as much pain on Europe as it would on Russia.
Mapped: Where Russia Stashes Its Cash|CNBC|March 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And with RT, these losers have a global platform through which they can inflict their psychoses on the rest of us.
Watch RT, Putin's TV Network, Call the Cops on Me|James Kirchick|March 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
From that region they issue to inflict diseases, especially blindness and deafness.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway
Like his father, he had to bear all that Spanish envy and Spanish malignity could inflict.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
Accordingly the Marshal was able to surprise and defeat Blake, and then to turn and inflict a similar defeat on Cuesta.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
The ships fired upon each other, but they could not inflict serious damage.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia|Dorothy M. Torpey
You inflict a punishment which confers honour on the culprit in the eyes of the only persons for whose opinion he cares.
The Chequers|James Runciman

British Dictionary definitions for inflict

inflict

/ (ɪnˈflɪkt) /

verb (tr)

(often foll by on or upon) to impose (something unwelcome, such as pain, oneself, etc)

rare to cause to suffer; afflict (with)

to deal out (blows, lashes, etc)

Derived forms of inflict

inflictable, adjectiveinflicter or inflictor, nouninfliction, nouninflictive, adjective

Word Origin for inflict

C16: from Latin inflīgere to strike (something) against, dash against, from flīgere to strike

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

inflict

Origin of inflict

OTHER WORDS FROM inflict

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH inflict

Words nearby inflict

Words related to inflict

How to use inflict in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for inflict

Derived forms of inflict

Word Origin for inflict