本文经授权转载自微信公众号：田间小站
IELTS TOEFL TEM8 GRE
外刊例句
- In 2010 a group of drug experts scored the total harm in Britain caused by 20 common intoxicants and concluded that alcohol inflicted the greatest cost, mostly because of the damage it does to non-consumers such as the victims of drunk drivers.
2010年，一组药物专家评估了最常见的20种麻醉品在英国造成的总伤害，得出的结论是酒精造成的损失最大，主要是因为它对非饮酒人造成的伤害，比如酒驾事故的受害者。
——《经济学人》 - But that meant inflicting undeserved pain on others.
但这意味着给他人造成不应有的痛苦。
——《纽约时报》
基本释义
[verb] cause (something unpleasant or painful) to be suffered by someone or something
[动词] 使某人或某事物遭受（不愉快或痛苦的事情）
深入解读
在小站（微信公众号：田间小站）去年推送的 小词详解 | afflict 中，就曾提到 inflict 容易与 afflict 相混淆。这两个单词词根相同，其中 inflict 由前缀 in- （使……）+ 词根 flict （打击）构成。
从这个构词不难猜出 inflict 的含义，即“予以打击，使遭受打击、损伤、苦痛等”，也就是使某人或某事物遭受不愉快或痛苦的事情，常用搭配 inflict sth (on/upon sb/sth) 。
与 afflict 强调谁在承受痛苦略有不同的是， inflict 侧重指痛苦是由谁造成的，或者说 inflict 更具恶意和攻击性，意味着主动造成伤害或问题，比如：
- 他们使敌人吃了一场很没面子的败仗。败军在溃逃时有很多人被击毙或俘虏。
They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the enemy. Many men were shot or captured in the debacle. - 他们察看了由盟军空军造成的附带损失。
They surveyed the collateral damage inflicted by allied air forces.
这个概念也可以进一步用来表示“强加、使被迫承受”，即强加不受欢迎的东西使人忍受，比如：
- 你非得逼我们听那种刺耳的音乐吗？
Do you have to inflict that strident music on us?
而短语动词 inflict yourself/sb on sb 则相应表示“打扰、不请自来”，也就是强迫人在其不愿意的情况下与自己或某个人共度时光，常作戏谑用语使用，比如：
- 她把她无能的儿子打发到他们那儿去度周末，真是添乱。
She inflicted her inept son on them for the weekend.
权威用例
人与自然是生命共同体，人类必须尊重自然、顺应自然、保护自然。人类只有遵循自然规律才能有效防止在开发利用自然上走弯路，人类对大自然的伤害最终会伤及人类自身，这是无法抗拒的规律。
Man and nature form a community of life; we, as human beings, must respect nature, follow its ways, and protect it. Only by observing the laws of nature can mankind avoid costly blunders in its exploitation. Any harm we inflict on nature will eventually return to haunt us. This is a reality we have to face.
同近义词
- impose: force (something unwelcome or unfamiliar) to be accepted or put in place
- exact: inflict (revenge) on someone
- thrust: push (something or someone) suddenly or violently in the specified direction
