How to Use inflict in a Sentence

inflict

verb
  • These insects are capable of inflicting a painful sting.
  • My ex used our daughter as a means to inflict pain on me.
    — R. Eric Thomas, Mercury News, 23 Dec. 2025
  • Why would anyone want to inflict this, or feel it?
    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 1 Sep. 2025
  • Our job wasn’t to find some way, any way, to inflict a punishment.
    — Mitch McConnell, WSJ, 15 Feb. 2021
  • Curses to those who inflict this hate; God said it, and it will be done.
    — Arkansas Online, 10 Apr. 2021
  • That no one should be able to inflict such damage upon the country.
    — Dan Perry, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
  • These charges fall far short of the harm inflicted on our families.
    — Vaughan Bagley, Baltimore Sun, 22 Mar. 2026
  • The move aims to inflict more economic pain on Iran.
    — Arkansas Online, 16 Apr. 2026
  • They're supposed to inflict fear as the third or fourth hitter in the lineup.
    — Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press, 23 Oct. 2020
  • Reddit users’ goal to inflict pain on the hedge funds appeared to be working.
    — Sheelah Kolhatkar, The New Yorker, 10 May 2021
  • The tragedy was self- inflicted.
    — Tom Frieden, Big Think, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Some were inflicted on drunken patients who slipped on the ice.
    — Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 22 May 2025
  • Why did the universe decide to inflict this upon me?
    — Zoe Weissman, The Atlantic, 26 May 2026
  • But that doesn't mean Andre isn't ready to inflict some more pain on himself.
    — Derek Lawrence, EW.com, 5 Jan. 2022
  • Caterpillars with hairs that inflict painful stings do the same thing to warn away predators.
    — Byerik Stokstad, science.org, 20 Mar. 2025
  • Researchers said since it was buried so deep, it likely wasn’t meant to inflict injury.
    — Lauren Liebhaber, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2025
  • Those who inflict racial harm on others must be dealt with and this will set a precedent for others.
    — Janice Gassam Asare, Forbes, 31 Aug. 2021
  • How much damage will be inflicted?
    — Chicago Tribune, 4 Mar. 2026
  • Musk is trying a number of tactics to inflict pain on his old comrades.
    — Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2026
  • Death is scary, but the kind of ego death inflicted by the Borg is arguably a fate worse than death.
    — Alan Bradley, Space.com, 8 Nov. 2025
  • Buruk hit the turf, holding his face as if grievous harm had been inflicted.
    — Nick Miller, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Not when the Bucs defense was there to inflict the finishing blows.
    — Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY, 18 Sep. 2022
  • These miserable tiny insects inflict a vicious bite for two or three weeks.
    — Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 20 Jan. 2026
  • This can be way more satisfying than inflicting your own tastes on them.
    — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 19 Sep. 2025
  • And maybe that’s why Dixon still hangs on to the adversity this sport can inflict.
    — Nathan Brown, The Indianapolis Star, 27 Oct. 2020
  • This one stands to inflict more damage, and not just because of its length, economists say.
    — Bloomberg News, Boston Herald, 5 Nov. 2025
  • Deer antlers and hooves can inflict serious injuries.
    — Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 5 Dec. 2025
  • Even so, a major attack is not necessary to inflict pain.
    — Sue Halpern, New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2026
  • Whether that would inflict serious damage on the tech giants isn’t clear.
    — Malathi Nayak, Bloomberg.com, 28 Feb. 2022
  • If that’s the case, hurricanes could inflict more damage in the future.
    — Chelsea Harvey, Scientific American, 12 Nov. 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'inflict.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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