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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of inflict
The series’ pitiable ghost is Kayako (Takako Fuji), at the receiving end of violence in life, prone to continue inflicting violence on others in death.
—
Gayle Sequeira, Vulture, 20 Jan. 2025
Politicians typically hate inflicting any pain on voters — hence, your deficits!
—Axios, 20 Jan. 2025
Karski, who had personally witnessed the Nazi’s atrocities, told Frankfurter of the horrors being inflicted upon the Jews in Warsaw’s ghettos and Polish concentration camps.
—Terrance Carroll, The Denver Post, 20 Jan. 2025
Hitting their target would push them to inflict extensive suffering on millions of American families.
—Robert Pearl, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for inflict 
Gayle Sequeira, Vulture, 20 Jan. 2025
Politicians typically hate inflicting any pain on voters — hence, your deficits!
—Axios, 20 Jan. 2025
Karski, who had personally witnessed the Nazi’s atrocities, told Frankfurter of the horrors being inflicted upon the Jews in Warsaw’s ghettos and Polish concentration camps.
—Terrance Carroll, The Denver Post, 20 Jan. 2025
Hitting their target would push them to inflict extensive suffering on millions of American families.
—Robert Pearl, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for inflict
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inflict
Verb
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The United States has imposed tough restrictions that are designed to prevent Chinese firms from buying or building their own cutting-edge computer chips required to train AI models.—
Matt Egan,
CNN,
28 Jan. 2025
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This would subject them to new restrictions that the regulator can impose under the DMCC to prevent anti-competitive behavior.—
Ryan Browne,
CNBC,
28 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The original series is created by French director Charles Vaucelle (Pat the Dog, Oggy and the Cockroaches, The Daltons, Lucky Luke, Dogmatix and the Indomitables) and Matthieu Choquet, with story editing by Valérie Baranski.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
27 Jan. 2025
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The third season is once again created, written and directed by Mike White, with producers including White, David Bernad and Mark Kamine.—
Matt Minton,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2025
Verb
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With that ban set to expire at the end of January, supervisors were forced to make a decision on the recurring problem.—
Jake Goodrick,
Sacramento Bee,
30 Jan. 2025
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Without the ice, they are forced to hunt in open water, which is a difficult feat for the large apex predator.—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
30 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Such cases bring home the importance of mutually respectful communication when making such requests.—
Kristen Waggoner,
Newsweek,
22 Jan. 2025
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Her two large-scale, colourful installations will bring a festive dimension to this anniversary edition.—
Kissa Castaneda,
Forbes,
21 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near inflict
Cite this Entry
“Inflict.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inflict. Accessed 4 Feb. 2025.
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