Meaning & use
inflict
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitive
To make someone or something suffer by causing pain, damage or a punishment.
Grammar: Takes an object and usually on or upon: inflict pain on someone, not inflict someone with pain.
Patterns
- inflict something on someone
- inflict something upon something
The storm inflicted serious damage on the coastline.
He never meant to inflict pain on anyone.
The coach refused to inflict harsh punishments on young players.
verbtransitivehumorous
To force an unwelcome thing, such as an opinion or a habit, on someone.
Grammar: Often used humorously with a reflexive or a personal choice: inflict your music on the neighbors.
Patterns
- inflict yourself on someone
- inflict something on someone
I don't want to inflict my bad mood on the whole team.
She inflicted her singing on the entire car ride.
Please don't inflict your holiday photos on us again.
Word forms
| third person singular | inflicts |
|---|---|
| past tense | inflicted |
| past participle | inflicted |
| -ing form | inflicting |
Common combinations
- inflict pain
- The treatment should not inflict pain on the patient.
- inflict damage
- The hailstorm inflicted heavy damage on the crops.
- inflict a defeat
- The visitors inflicted a surprise defeat on the champions.
- inflict injury
- The dog did not intend to inflict injury.
- self-inflicted wound
- The financial trouble was a self-inflicted wound.
- inflict suffering
- War inflicts suffering on ordinary families.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cause
- Cause is neutral and works for good or bad outcomes, while inflict is only used for harm or unpleasant things.
- impose
- Impose means to force a rule or burden on people, and is less about pain than inflict.
- administer
- Administer is formal and can be neutral, such as administering a punishment, while inflict stresses harm done to someone.
- wreak
- Wreak is used with havoc or damage and suggests widespread destruction, a stronger tone than inflict.
Opposites
Word family
- infliction noun
- the act of causing harm or punishment
- self-inflicted adjective
- caused by yourself
- afflict verb
- to cause suffering to someone, often passive: afflicted by illness
Commonly confused: inflict or afflict? inflict or conflict?
inflict vs afflict
Afflict often goes with the sufferer as object (illness afflicts people), while inflict goes with the thing caused: inflict pain on people.
inflict vs conflict
Conflict is a disagreement or fight and is not a verb for causing harm.
Practice
Which sentence is correct?
Choose one answer.
Inflict takes the harm as its object and on for the sufferer. Inflicted with and inflicted at are not used, and the double-object form is not natural.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “inflict”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.