hard done by
idiom
British
: treated harshly or unfairly
He felt very hard done by when he was laid off after many years of faithful service.
Examples of hard done by in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Gay men confronting this history can sometimes feel a little hard done by, as if they had been deprived of a chance to be heroic, or even naughty.
—
Nikhil Krishnan, The New Yorker, 16 Jan. 2023
Burnley felt hard done by when Ashley Barnes appeared to equalize in the 19th minute.
—Paul Gittings, CNN, 27 Dec. 2020
Nikhil Krishnan, The New Yorker, 16 Jan. 2023
Burnley felt hard done by when Ashley Barnes appeared to equalize in the 19th minute.
—Paul Gittings, CNN, 27 Dec. 2020
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hard done by.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near hard done by
Cite this Entry
“Hard done by.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hard%20done%20by. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share