inflict

inflict — verb

1. to deliberately make a person, group, or living thing experience something painf

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to deliberately make a person, group, or living thing experience something painful, difficult, or unwanted — for example, a military attack that causes civilian casualties, or a parent or authority figure who hands out harsh punishment.

Example

The old dictator's regime inflicted terrible suffering upon thousands of innocent civilians.

inflict + suffering + upon — formal register

Tamar's father inflicted harsh punishments on her for every small mistake.

inflict + punishment + on + person

Common collocations
  • inflict pain
  • inflict suffering
  • inflict damage
  • inflict punishment
  • inflict injury
  • inflict hardship
  • inflict a blow
  • inflict casualties
  • inflict wounds
  • inflict humiliation
Synonyms
  • impose

    Broader in scope — can apply to duties, taxes, rules, or sanctions, not only pain/suffering; less emotionally charged.

  • cause

    Much more general and neutral; does not imply deliberate intention or the use of force.

  • mete out

    Specifically about punishment or justice; formal, often used in legal contexts (e.g., mete out a sentence).

Antonyms
  • relieve

    To remove or reduce pain or suffering — the opposite of causing it.

  • spare

    To refrain from harming or punishing someone.

Grammar Patterns

inflict + something (unpleasant) + on/upon + someone/something

Usage Note

The direct object must always be something negative: pain, suffering, punishment, damage, injury, hardship, or a blow. The preposition upon sounds more formal than on and is more typical in legal or literary writing. This verb is rarely used in the passive voice, but when it is, the agent is usually explicit (e.g. 'suffering was inflicted on civilians by the regime').

Common Mistakes

The storm inflicted the coastal town.
The storm inflicted severe damage on the coastal town.
Inflict always needs both a direct object (the bad thing) and a recipient introduced by on or upon; never put a person or place directly after the verb.
The doctor inflicted medicine on the patient.
The doctor gave medicine to the patient.
Inflict can only be used for unpleasant things (pain, punishment, injury). For neutral or positive things, use give, administer, or provide.
The disease inflicted him with a fever.
The disease afflicted him with a fever.
Inflict means to cause something bad; afflict means to suffer from something bad. Use be afflicted with/by for illnesses or problems that someone experiences.
Phrasal verbs

inflict on

phrasal verb

To cause something unpleasant to happen to someone.

The storm inflicted heavy damage on the coastal town.

Why did you inflict that boring movie on your friends?

Word family

  • infliction
    nounC1
  • inflictive
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Inflict, impose, cause, afflict, and mete out all involve bringing something about, but they differ sharply in what they apply to and how deliberately. Cause is the most neutral and broad — storms cause damage, but a joke can also cause laughter. Inflict is narrower: the result must be unpleasant, and typically someone does it intentionally or through the exercise of power (a regime inflicts suffering). Impose is about rules, duties, taxes, or a burden — it can be negative (impose a curfew) but lacks the sense of visceral harm that inflict carries. Afflict is almost always used in the passive (be afflicted with) and describes the suffering state itself rather than the act of causing it. Mete out is restricted to punishment or justice and is highly formal. Compare: 'The government imposed new taxes on businesses' (neutral/administrative) vs. 'The rebels inflicted heavy losses on the army' (violent/harmful) vs. 'She was afflicted with a rare disease' (state of suffering).

impose ↗cause ↗afflictmete out

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • inflict ... on/upon someone
  • inflict damage on
  • inflict a blow to

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Inflict comes from the Latin verb infligere, made up of in- ('on, against') and fligere ('to strike'). The original Latin sense was literally 'to strike against', and it entered English in the 1500s through French. The physical striking meaning faded over time, leaving today's metaphorical sense of 'striking' someone with something unpleasant — like pain, punishment, or a blow.