inflict

What it means

1. To thrust upon; to impose.

   In that case, I won't inflict my company on you any longer.

   4 more examples

   They inflicted terrible pains on her to obtain a confession.

   The enemy's artillery inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy forces.

   Now Azaēlos, the king of Syria, made war on the Israelites and their king Jehu, and ravaged the eastern parts of the country across the Jordan […] spreading fire everywhere and plundering everything and inflicting violence on all who fell into his hands.

   1937, Josephus, Ralph Marcus, transl., chapter VIII, in Josephus: With an English Translation (Loeb Classical Library), volume VI (Jewish Antiquities), London: William Heinemann Ltd.; Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, published 1958, →OCLC, book IX, paragraph 1, page 87

   This allowed me to continue inflicting this injury on myself long after I otherwise could have beared^([sic]), I think.

   2011 June 15, Tony White, Working with Suicidal Individuals: A Guide to Providing Understanding, Assessment and Support, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, →ISBN, page 87

   Synonyms: exact, fetch, visit, wreak

In a sentence

They inflicted terrible pains on her to obtain a confession.

Where it comes from

1. Latinīnflīctus
2. Englishinflict

From Latin īnflīctus, from in- + flīctus, past participle of īnflīgō (“to knock or strike against”), from in- + flīgō (“strike”).