Question

select the word that means to cause another to experience something unpleasant.

for most of the year, a mooses life is solitary and unexciting. when mating season approaches, however, things change. by late august, the male moose, or bulls, have grown new antlers. the young bulls start sparring, playfully hitting one another with their antlers.

naturalists believe that this type of practice fighting helps the moose learn how adult males fight. the bulls dont try to inflict damage on one another until later in the season, when females choose their mates. then, to guard his females, a bull will fight in earnest, often injuring or even killing other bulls.

Explanation:

We need to find the word that means "to cause another to experience something unpleasant". Looking at the text, the word "inflict" is used in the context of the bulls trying to cause damage (something unpleasant) to each other later in the season. The sentence "The bulls don't try to inflict damage on one another until later in the season" shows that "inflict" means to cause someone to experience something unpleasant (like damage, injury, etc.).

Answer:

inflict