Word
inflict
To cause something unpleasant or painful to be suffered by someone or something.
Meanings
To make someone or something experience something harmful, painful, or unpleasant.
Definition
When you inflict something, you cause harm, suffering, or punishment upon another person, animal, or object. This can involve physical pain, emotional distress, or damage to property. The action often implies a deliberate or unavoidable imposition of negative consequences.
Examples
- The recent economic downturn has inflicted considerable hardship on many small businesses.
- He did not intend to inflict such a severe injury during the rugby match.
- The cruel words she spoke inflicted deep emotional pain that lasted for weeks.
- Our team managed to inflict a decisive defeat on their rivals in the final game.
- The heavy rains inflicted significant damage on the newly constructed road.
Common mistake
Learners sometimes confuse 'inflict' with 'afflict'; 'inflict' means to cause something negative, while 'afflict' means to suffer from something negative.
More at C1 level
- ubiquitous Present, appearing, or found everywhere at the same time.
- xenophobia Xenophobia is a strong dislike or fear of people from other countries or cultures.
- genocide Genocide is the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular group in order to …
- conundrum A conundrum is a confusing and difficult problem to solve.
- pretentious Trying to seem more important, intelligent, or cultured than you really are.
More verbs
- analyze To examine something carefully in order to understand it or explain it.
- scrutinize To scrutinize something is to examine it very carefully and in detail.
- affect To affect something is to influence it or cause it to change.
- allude To allude means to mention or suggest something indirectly without saying it clearly.
- elude To elude someone or something is to avoid being caught, understood, or remembered.