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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Recent Examples of inflict
Jurors also found true sentencing enhancements for inflicting great bodily injury on the victim.
—
City News Service, Oc Register, 21 Oct. 2025
Lovely goals from Morgan Rogers and Emiliano Buendia turned the game on its head to inflict a second defeat of the season on the home team.
—Elias Burke, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
But the most important part of the story left unseen in the series is the gut-wrenching violence Gacy inflicted on his victims, both those who died and the few who survived.
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 18 Oct. 2025
And the matchup gives the Rebels their chance to inflict back-to-back defeats upon the Bulldogs for the first time in almost 30 years.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inflict
City News Service, Oc Register, 21 Oct. 2025
Lovely goals from Morgan Rogers and Emiliano Buendia turned the game on its head to inflict a second defeat of the season on the home team.
—Elias Burke, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
But the most important part of the story left unseen in the series is the gut-wrenching violence Gacy inflicted on his victims, both those who died and the few who survived.
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 18 Oct. 2025
And the matchup gives the Rebels their chance to inflict back-to-back defeats upon the Bulldogs for the first time in almost 30 years.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inflict
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inflict
Verb
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Judge Steven Denny imposed the 60-year sentence that same day.—
Christina Coulter,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
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He was forced to accept it, because it was imposed on him.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Heavy snow and strong winds could impact major routes, isolate higher-elevation communities, and create hazardous conditions for early-season recreation.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
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After an effort to create a Falls of the Ohio national park fell short in 1967, Kentucky and Indiana officials struggled to stop the falls from becoming a garbage dump.—
Leo Bertucci,
Louisville Courier Journal,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Follow what feels fun and freeing, not forced.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
28 Oct. 2025
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In Wisconsin, the legal bar to force someone into mental health treatment is high.—
Hope Karnopp,
jsonline.com,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Flick will not back down from his high-line philosophy as squeezing up the pitch allows Barcelona to dominate territory and bring their technically gifted players closer to goal.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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Still, experts like Taylor note that companies’ own financial interests may bring some of that into question.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inflict.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inflict. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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