as in to impose
to cause someone to accept or experience something unwanted
The criminal inflicted a lifetime of distress on his unsuspecting victims.
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Recent Examples of inflict
In its lawsuit, Ryan LLC argued that the noncompete ban would inflict irreparable harm by enabling its employees to leave for the competition, potentially taking with them valuable skills and information gained on the job.
—
Andrea Hsu, NPR, 5 Sep. 2025
But most people, when presented with images of immense and deliberately inflicted human suffering, have a human response.
—Jack Sheehan
september 4, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
The trade of Parsons certainly inflicted some anguish on Cowboys fans who have been longing for the franchise to at least get back to the NFC Championship Game.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 3 Sep. 2025
The film culminates with an escalating parade of pain inflicted on Marv and Harry, and John deftly varied the pace and intensity of his cartooning — with heavy use of pizzicato strings, triangle, and legato bass clarinets — to match the progression.
—Tim Greiving, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inflict
Andrea Hsu, NPR, 5 Sep. 2025
But most people, when presented with images of immense and deliberately inflicted human suffering, have a human response.
—Jack Sheehan
september 4, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
The trade of Parsons certainly inflicted some anguish on Cowboys fans who have been longing for the franchise to at least get back to the NFC Championship Game.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 3 Sep. 2025
The film culminates with an escalating parade of pain inflicted on Marv and Harry, and John deftly varied the pace and intensity of his cartooning — with heavy use of pizzicato strings, triangle, and legato bass clarinets — to match the progression.
—Tim Greiving, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inflict
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inflict
Verb
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Cities would also generally be prevented from imposing height and density limits based on how close a development is near a transit stop.—
Stephen Hobbs,
Sacbee.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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In fact, there’s already a battle in Los Angeles over the $30 wage for workers at hotels and other hospitality businesses imposed by the city council.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Turns out Stephano was pondering beltmaking too, leading the two to partner on a new business venture creating small-batch leather pieces and metal accessories.—
Jean E. Palmieri,
Footwear News,
12 Sep. 2025
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The collection features approximately 350 works created in Cuba from the revolution through the 2000s.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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France’s government has collapsed after a vote of no confidence on Monday, forcing Prime Minister Francois Bayrou out of office after just nine months on the job.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
9 Sep. 2025
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Quarterback Brock Purdy, who delivered a clutch, game-winning drive after throwing two interceptions, has a bad shoulder and toe that could force him to miss Week 2.—
Robert Marvi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Well, a new Netflix documentary about Charlie Sheen brings that up, as well as all his other infamous shenanigans.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
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The work could bring frequency combs out of specialized labs and into integrated photonic devices.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inflict.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inflict. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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