Home › Words › I › inflictinflict/ɪnˈflɪkt/inflict means to thrust upon; to impose.inflict is pronounced /ɪnˈflɪkt/.EtymologyFrom Latin īnflīctus, from in- + flīctus, past participle of īnflīgō (“to knock or strike against”), from in- + flīgō (“strike”) (whence in-).verbTo thrust upon; to impose.e.g.“They inflicted terrible pains on her to obtain a confession.”Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).