inflict

[in-flikt]

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.

Origin of inflict

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

Related formsin·flict·a·ble, adjectivein·flict·er, in·flic·tor, nounin·flic·tive, adjectivepre·in·flict, verb (used with object)un·in·flict·ed, adjective

Can be confusedafflict infect inflict

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for inflicting

levy, expose, exact, wreak, extort, force, give, visit, require, deliver, administer, command, dispense, strike, apply, subject

Examples from the Web for inflicting

Contemporary Examples of inflicting

It is also memories like these that make it easier to write scenes of inflicting pain upon male perpetrators.
Nitehawk Shorts Festival: ‘Brute,’ a Twisted Take on Playing in the Dark
Julia Grinberg
November 28, 2014
So far, neither America nor Europe has shown much disposition to bear the inevitable costs of inflicting pain on Russia.
The Unhappy Truth About Ukraine
Leslie H. Gelb
May 2, 2014
Gómez and Barros have been charged with forced slavery, inflicting bodily harm on a child and false imprisonment.
Argentinian Teen Was Starved and Held Captive With a Canine For 9 Years
Barbie Latza Nadeau
April 17, 2014
Perhaps we factor in what exactly we are inflicting on people with “pack and stack” strategies.
City Leaders Are in Love With Density but Most City Dwellers Disagree
Joel Kotkin
September 16, 2013
Firearms, after all, are inanimate objects, incapable of inflicting harm on their own initiative.
Angry Gun-Control Debate Does Damage to Both the Right and the Left
Michael Medved
January 23, 2013

Historical Examples of inflicting

And in many cases they succeed in inflicting a good deal of pain.
The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 10, No. 58, August, 1862
Various
Richling, in the self-occupation of a lover, forgot what pains he might be inflicting.
Dr. Sevier
George W. Cable
I ask pardon for inflicting something like a sermon upon you.
Roland Cashel
Charles James Lever
You are too generous to give pain: spare me, then, the suffering of inflicting it on you.
Roland Cashel
Charles James Lever
And Andrea then fully realised the pain he was inflicting on this man's soul.
The Child of Pleasure
Gabriele D'Annunzio

British Dictionary definitions for inflicting

inflict

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 Formsinflictable, 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

Word Origin and History for inflicting

inflict

1560s, from Latin inflictus, past participle of infligere "to strike or dash against," from in- "on, against" (see in- (2)) + fligere (past participle flictus) "to dash, strike" (see afflict). You inflict trouble on someone; you afflict someone with trouble. Shame on you.