as in imposes
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 inflicts
Solitary confinement inflicts long-lasting psychological and neurological harm similar to post-traumatic stress disorder.
—
Terry Kupers, Oc Register, 11 Oct. 2025
Trump gets his headlines, and inflicts a jolt of panic, and doesn't care whether this survives first contact with the courts.
—Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
But using the criminal law to punish political opponents as retribution inflicts far greater damage.
—Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2025
But Venugopal points out that the lab study couldn’t capture the onslaught of enzymes, teeth gritting, and temperature variation that a real human mouth inflicts.
—Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 25 Aug. 2025
Terry Kupers, Oc Register, 11 Oct. 2025
Trump gets his headlines, and inflicts a jolt of panic, and doesn't care whether this survives first contact with the courts.
—Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
But using the criminal law to punish political opponents as retribution inflicts far greater damage.
—Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2025
But Venugopal points out that the lab study couldn’t capture the onslaught of enzymes, teeth gritting, and temperature variation that a real human mouth inflicts.
—Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 25 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inflicts
Verb
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Most Californians, especially homeowners, know that Proposition 13 imposes limits on property taxes.—
Jon Coupal,
Oc Register,
13 Oct. 2025
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Any fine that the league imposes on him will be pocket change for him.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In nearby Aloxe-Corton, Domaine Frey creates cuvées of wines aged in both Clayver and oak rather than using 100 percent ceramic.—
Mike DeSimone,
Robb Report,
12 Oct. 2025
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The company creates fiberglass and papier-mâché creatures, towering works of art, like glowing spiders and dancing, 20-foot skeletons.—
Jenny Adams,
Southern Living,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
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There is a bus system (rides start at €2) that connects most of the major tourist sites in Palma, and a railway (round trip, €40) that brings passengers to some other sites, including Sollér.—
Emilio Parra Doiztua,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
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Each mission to the ISS, each rocket launch, each experiment on human adaptation brings us closer to understanding how to survive in space.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inflicts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inflicts. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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