inflicted; inflicting; inflicts
1
a
: to give by or as if by striking
inflict a painful sting
inflict damage
b
: to cause (something unpleasant) to be endured
… inflict my annual message upon the church itself if it might derive benefit thereby.—
Mark Twain
Mark Twain2
: afflict
Examples of inflict in a Sentence
These insects are capable of inflicting a painful sting.
Recent Examples on the Web
The exhibition also examines when violence is inflicted upon religious groups.
—Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2024
In a lawsuit filed Monday in Denver District Court, attorneys for Ray claimed the company violated the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, breached a contract with Ray, failed to act in good faith and inflicted emotional distress by revoking her tickets and banning her from games for the season.
—Katie Langford, The Denver Post, 22 Apr. 2024
Hospital workers do know how to appropriately treat a snake bite, regardless of the species that inflicted the wound.
—Kelli Bender, Peoplemag, 22 Apr. 2024
The first limited armed conflict in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising took place on Jan. 18, 1943, as sparsely armed Jewish families took heavy losses, but inflicted dozens of casualties on Nazi soldiers.
—David Unsworth, Fox News, 19 Apr. 2024
Many of the specific instances of abuse outlined in Fay's report were inflicted on Iraqi police officers who were thought to have been involved in smuggling a gun into the prison.
—Matthew Barakat, Quartz, 17 Apr. 2024
But after he was granted more time to prepare, a grand jury indicted him on felony counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers that inflicted bodily harm and obstruction of an official proceeding in addition to the four misdemeanor counts.
—Daniel Desrochers, Kansas City Star, 16 Apr. 2024
Hernandez was backed by stellar defense from third baseman Brady Ebel and first baseman David Rivera to turn back the Lancers, who inflicted one of the two losses on the Panthers this season.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2024
Hernandez was backed by stellar defense from third baseman Brady Ebel and first baseman David Rivera to turn back the Lancers, who own one of the two losses inflicted on the Panthers.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2024
Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2024
In a lawsuit filed Monday in Denver District Court, attorneys for Ray claimed the company violated the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, breached a contract with Ray, failed to act in good faith and inflicted emotional distress by revoking her tickets and banning her from games for the season.
—Katie Langford, The Denver Post, 22 Apr. 2024
Hospital workers do know how to appropriately treat a snake bite, regardless of the species that inflicted the wound.
—Kelli Bender, Peoplemag, 22 Apr. 2024
The first limited armed conflict in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising took place on Jan. 18, 1943, as sparsely armed Jewish families took heavy losses, but inflicted dozens of casualties on Nazi soldiers.
—David Unsworth, Fox News, 19 Apr. 2024
Many of the specific instances of abuse outlined in Fay's report were inflicted on Iraqi police officers who were thought to have been involved in smuggling a gun into the prison.
—Matthew Barakat, Quartz, 17 Apr. 2024
But after he was granted more time to prepare, a grand jury indicted him on felony counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers that inflicted bodily harm and obstruction of an official proceeding in addition to the four misdemeanor counts.
—Daniel Desrochers, Kansas City Star, 16 Apr. 2024
Hernandez was backed by stellar defense from third baseman Brady Ebel and first baseman David Rivera to turn back the Lancers, who inflicted one of the two losses on the Panthers this season.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2024
Hernandez was backed by stellar defense from third baseman Brady Ebel and first baseman David Rivera to turn back the Lancers, who own one of the two losses inflicted on the Panthers.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'inflict.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near inflict
Cite this Entry
“Inflict.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inflict. Accessed 1 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
inflict
verb
in·flict
in-ˈflikt 
1
: to give by or as if by striking
inflict a wound
2
: to cause (something damaging or painful) to be endured
inflict punishment
infliction
noun
-ˈflik-shən
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