Difference between revisions of "Afflict - inflict"
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* '''inflict''' [the suffering] '''on''' [the victim] | * '''inflict''' [the suffering] '''on''' [the victim] | ||
| − | To '''afflict '''is to distress (''[[OED]]''); or to cause suffering to. Its usage is most often in the [[passive voice]]. (This shows that it is a [[transitive verb]].) Someone may be afflicted with arthritis, for example. | + | To '''afflict '''is to distress (''[[OED]]''); or to cause suffering to. Its usage is most often in the [[passive voice]]. (This shows that it is a [[transitive]] [[verb]].) Someone may be afflicted with arthritis, for example. |
Much more rarely, it is used in the [[active voice]]. [Someone in authority - often a God] '''afflicts''' [a sufferer] '''with''' [punishment, trials or tribulations]. | Much more rarely, it is used in the [[active voice]]. [Someone in authority - often a God] '''afflicts''' [a sufferer] '''with''' [punishment, trials or tribulations]. | ||
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[[category:malapropisms]] | [[category:malapropisms]] | ||
| + | [[Category:disambig]] | ||
Latest revision as of 13:10, 7 November 2016
Afflict and inflict are two words close in meaning, coming from same root in Latin. The difference is mostly in the usage, particularly the prepositions:
- afflict [the victim] with [the suffering]; but
- inflict [the suffering] on [the victim]
To afflict is to distress (OED); or to cause suffering to. Its usage is most often in the passive voice. (This shows that it is a transitive verb.) Someone may be afflicted with arthritis, for example.
Much more rarely, it is used in the active voice. [Someone in authority - often a God] afflicts [a sufferer] with [punishment, trials or tribulations].
To inflict is to lay on, as a stroke or blow, or To impose something unwelcome. (Often jocular.) (OED).
Its usage is most often in the active form: [Someone] inflicts [a pain or other undesirable thing] on [someone else].
