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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of inflict
The suspect is believed to be around 6 feet tall, muscular and now has an injury to his left foot inflicted by the teen who fought back, according to KSBW.
—
Lesley Cosme Torres, People.com, 26 May 2025
From his elevated perch, the shooter had inflicted undetected damage.
—Chicago Tribune, 26 May 2025
But the polls suggest that at least some of his supporters did not vote for the kind of unfairness inflicted on Özturk, Abrego Garcia, and others.
—Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 25 May 2025
The families of the victims sought a public trial to prosecute executives and inflict steep financial penalties on Boeing.
—Joseph Zeballos-Roig, Quartz, 23 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for inflict
Lesley Cosme Torres, People.com, 26 May 2025
From his elevated perch, the shooter had inflicted undetected damage.
—Chicago Tribune, 26 May 2025
But the polls suggest that at least some of his supporters did not vote for the kind of unfairness inflicted on Özturk, Abrego Garcia, and others.
—Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 25 May 2025
The families of the victims sought a public trial to prosecute executives and inflict steep financial penalties on Boeing.
—Joseph Zeballos-Roig, Quartz, 23 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for inflict
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inflict
Verb
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After deliberating for parts of three days during the punishment phase of the trial, some jurors told the Tribune the decision to impose the death penalty had been a difficult one.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
28 May 2025
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In that case, West Virginia challenged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s authority to impose regulations to effectively control the state's energy policy through the Clean Power Plan.—
Zoltan Istvan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 May 2025
Verb
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Ronaldo’s post on social media on Monday, when Al Nassr played the final match of their season, then created more conversation.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
28 May 2025
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Defense created easy offense and in the halfcourt, the ball skipped around.—
Fiifi Frimpong,
New York Daily News,
28 May 2025
Verb
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That gives you a puncher’s chance against a team that runs on makes and misses and forces defensive miscues by sheer virtue of its pace of play.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
30 May 2025
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Set in the winter of 1591, the play unfolds across three clandestine meetings where the rival playwrights are forced into creative collaboration amid a climate of conspiracy and paranoia.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
30 May 2025
Verb
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The primary, Sam Rashid, is a demanding man from Tampa who is bringing his entire family on vacation, including two adorable four-year-olds.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
3 June 2025
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Kimi Antonelli steadily brought home points and consistently ran in the middle of the top 10 for a majority of the opening slate (aside from being point-less in Bahrain).—
Madeline Coleman,
New York Times,
2 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inflict.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inflict. Accessed 11 Jun. 2025.
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