inflict

I1N1F4L1I1C3T1
/ɪnˈflɪkt/

verb

To thrust upon; to impose.

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

Meanings

verbinflict (third-person singular simple present inflicts, present participle inflicting, simple past and past participle inflicted)

present singular third person inflicts · participle present inflicting · participle past inflicted · past inflicted

  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

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo thrust upon; to impose.

More synonyms by meaning

verbimpose something unpleasant

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinīnflīctus
  2. Englishinflict

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

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ἐπιτίθημι
  • ἐπιτίθημι (epitíthēmi)thrust upon, impose
Bulgarian причинявам, налагам
  • причинявам (pričinjavam)thrust upon, impose
  • налагам (nalagam)thrust upon, impose
Catalan infligir
  • infligirthrust upon, impose
Finnish aiheuttaa, tuottaa
  • aiheuttaathrust upon, impose
  • tuottaathrust upon, impose
French infliger
  • infligerthrust upon, impose
German zufügen, verhängen
  • zufügenthrust upon, impose
  • verhängenthrust upon, impose
Italian infliggere, comminare
  • infliggerethrust upon, impose
  • comminarethrust upon, impose
Latin infligo
  • infligothrust upon, impose
Persian دچار کردن, تحمیل کردن
  • دچار کردن (dočâr kardan)thrust upon, impose
  • تحمیل کردن (tahmil kardan)thrust upon, impose
Portuguese infligir
  • infligirthrust upon, impose
Russian наноси́ть, причиня́ть
  • наноси́ть (nanosítʹ)thrust upon, impose
  • причиня́ть (pričinjátʹ)thrust upon, impose
  • налага́ть (nalagátʹ)thrust upon, impose
Spanish infligir
  • infligirthrust upon, impose
Turkish çarptırmak, çektirmek
  • çarptırmakthrust upon, impose
  • çektirmekthrust upon, impose
  • uğratmakthrust upon, impose

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with inflict

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

inflict. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inflict

MLA

“inflict.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inflict. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “inflict,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inflict.

Source: inflict on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.