inflictin‧flict /ɪnˈflɪkt/ ●●○ verb 
The strikes inflicted serious damage on the economy. Detectives warned that the men could inflict serious injury.2inflict yourself/somebody on somebody to visit or be with someone when they do not want you – used humorously: Was it really fair to her friends to inflict her nephew on them?—infliction /ɪnˈflɪkʃən/ noun [uncountable]: the deliberate infliction of pain
WORD ORIGINinflict
Origin:
1500-1600 Latin past participle of infligere, from fligere ‘to hit’VERB TABLE
inflict
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | inflict |
| he, she, it | inflicts | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | inflicted |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have inflicted |
| he, she, it | has inflicted | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had inflicted |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will inflict |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have inflicted |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am inflicting |
| he, she, it | is inflicting | |
| you, we, they | are inflicting | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was inflicting |
| you, we, they | were inflicting | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been inflicting |
| he, she, it | has been inflicting | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been inflicting |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be inflicting |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been inflicting |
Longman Language Activatorto force someone to accept something they do not want
· He thinks that just because he's the head of department he can force his opinions on everybody.· You shouldn't blame your father -- the decision was forced on him by his situation.· Elaine kept forcing drinks on him all evening, and he wondered if she was trying to seduce him.
if you impose your ideas and beliefs on other people, you try to force them to have the same ideas and beliefs as you: · Within days of being appointed office manager he had imposed his own working methods.impose something on somebody: · Teachers should try to avoid imposing their own beliefs on their students.
to force someone to accept something that causes them harm or suffering: · As time progressed, the king inflicted harsher and harsher measures on the people.· The new policy means that even higher bills will be inflicted on the taxpayer.
to get rid of a thing or piece of work that you do not want by giving it to someone else: · It's no use trying to foist your work on me.foist something off on to somebody: · He's always trying to foist the children off on to me while he goes out and enjoys himself.
to hurt or injure someone to cause physical harm to someone and make them feel pain: · Let go of my arm! You're hurting me!· Dan was a good man. He'd never hurt anyone deliberately.hurt somebody with something: · Put the stick down, Terry. You might hurt someone with it.
to cause physical harm to someone, for example in an accident or fight: · The bomb killed eleven people and injured 55.badly/seriously/critically injure: · Several shots were fired, critically injuring three women.
to injure someone with a weapon such as a knife or gun, causing cuts, bleeding etc: · Two boys were on trial for wounding a sixteen-year-old girl with a revolver.wound somebody in the chest/knee etc: · The bullet wounded him in the shoulder.
formal to deliberately hurt a person or an animal: · Inflicting pain as a means of teaching children discipline is wrong.inflict pain on: · Most drugs can be produced quite successfully without inflicting pain on helpless animals.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES The rebels have inflicted heavy casualties.
The rebels have inflicted heavy casualties. (=defeat someone, especially easily)· The army inflicted a heavy defeat on the English.
(=make someone be in a difficult or painful situation, used for emphasis)· Civil war has inflicted hardship and suffering on thousands of people.
(=cause harm, especially physical harm)· None of us wants to inflict harm on another human being.
formal (=make someone have an injury)· Jenkins was accused of inflicting a head injury on one of his former colleagues.
· The guards enjoyed inflicting pain on them.
(=punish someone, especially physically)· The abbot could inflict corporal punishment for gross disobedience.
· These fish can inflict serious wounds.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN· So successful was the tactic that the return fire from the Dragoons passed over their heads without inflicting a single casualty.· The precise reasoning behind the apparent intent to inflict fatalities and casualties among the civilian population in Britain is far from clear.
· However, it is possible for other war engines and large monsters to inflict damage on them.· The law increased the penalties for those convicted of inflicting racially motivated damage on a religious building.· Those with a taste for battle choose their weapons and most of them look capable of inflicting real damage.· The articles are designed to inflict damage on Labour, but I doubt that they will.· He's in a position to inflict major damage, and he does.· Against an immobile target, such as a wall, even the early cannon could inflict quite considerable damage.· But Tory rebels still remain confident they can win the day and in doing so inflict irreparable damage on the treaty.· Most horses panic, and then they can inflict terrible damage upon themselves.
· Tranmere Rovers went nap in front of their biggest gate of the season to inflict a heavy defeat on promotion chasing West Ham.· You are going to inflict such a defeat on the enemy that he will never recover.
· Stripped of his power to inflict harm on me, he seemed terribly ordinary.· Whatever their number, with the technology available to them, they can inflict major harm.· He was charged with unlawfully and maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm and with assault occasioning actual bodily harm.· Thus, the government has no compelling justification for inflicting such harm.· Claire and Wynn were also charged with conspiracy to inflict grievous bodily harm on Cotter.· Women, it would seem, should be governed by some biological instinct that prevents them from inflicting harm.· In court Diaz admitted charges of inflicting grievous bodily harm and affray and Walker admitted affray and assault causing actual bodily harm.
· Detectives are linking it with a series of recent armed robberies, and warn the men could inflict serious injury.· The second group comprises patients who inflict serious injuries on themselves with considerable suicidal intent.· The accused's intention had to be considered to determine whether he wished to use it to inflict injury.· Ask your glass merchant to rub down the newly-cut edges as plate glass can inflict nasty injuries.· He is also an inveterate hater of Mrs Joe, whom he attacks secretly, inflicting injuries from which she eventually dies.· She wondered crazily if she should thank Matilda for inflicting the injury.· As for Mr Hussein's chemical weapons, they could still inflict horrible injuries on the allies if they are used.· It means inflicting an injury which would be severely punished by a court of law if it was inflicted during an argument.
· And he was carrying no thunder-and-fire stick to inflict pain on them.· The threat to inflict pain may trigger fears more damaging than the immediate sensation of pain.· She looked into his eyes, into their endless blackness, seeking silent reassurance that he would inflict no more pain.· You are just lying there with these people washing, dressing and at the same time inflicting pain on you.· He had to inflict pain on people he was told were enemies.· Bougies were inserted into the urethra, and these got bigger and bigger, inflicting great pain and considerable nausea.· We all think it wrong to inflict pain gratuitously, but our reason for obeying this principle is not that others do.
· The hollow spur is connected to a venom gland situated behind the knee, and can inflict an agonising wound.· This spine has a serrated edge and can inflict painful wounds.· Even if they can't inflict any wounds they can still swamp him with weight of numbers.· Robert said that his brother had shot him without warning from about ten feet, inflicting a serious thigh wound.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY
1[transitive] to make someone suffer something unpleasantinflict something on/upon somebody- Alcohol and tobacco inflict great harm on individual health and have a high social cost.
- And he was carrying no thunder-and-fire stick to inflict pain on them.
- From early childhood they are schooled not to inflict themselves on others.
- However, it is possible for other war engines and large monsters to inflict damage on them.
- No one wants to inflict this pressure on children.
- The second group comprises patients who inflict serious injuries on themselves with considerable suicidal intent.
- You are just lying there with these people washing, dressing and at the same time inflicting pain on you.
The strikes inflicted serious damage on the economy. Detectives warned that the men could inflict serious injury.2inflict yourself/somebody on somebody to visit or be with someone when they do not want you – used humorously: Was it really fair to her friends to inflict her nephew on them?—infliction /ɪnˈflɪkʃən/ noun [uncountable]: the deliberate infliction of pain