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
Voters have inflicted a historic wipe out on the Tory party that led Britain through Brexit and, with almost all results called, Labour has won over 400 seats, gaining a huge majority of more than 190, comparable to Tony Blair’s sweeping victory in 1997.
—Patrick Reevell, ABC News, 5 July 2024
The damage that the current supermajority has inflicted would be entrenched and expanded.
—Ruth Marcus, Washington Post, 3 July 2024
The suspect, Trevor Belmont, 49, who authorities said was a transient, was also arrested on suspicion of inflicting injury on an elder adult.
—Harry Harris, The Mercury News, 2 July 2024
The Ukrainian leadership is not naive about Russia’s capacity to inflict destruction on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
—Sergey Vakulenko, Foreign Affairs, 25 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for inflict 
Patrick Reevell, ABC News, 5 July 2024
The damage that the current supermajority has inflicted would be entrenched and expanded.
—Ruth Marcus, Washington Post, 3 July 2024
The suspect, Trevor Belmont, 49, who authorities said was a transient, was also arrested on suspicion of inflicting injury on an elder adult.
—Harry Harris, The Mercury News, 2 July 2024
The Ukrainian leadership is not naive about Russia’s capacity to inflict destruction on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
—Sergey Vakulenko, Foreign Affairs, 25 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for inflict
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 15 Jul. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share