ILL-TREATED Synonyms: 47 Similar and Opposite Words

ill-treated

verb

past tense of ill-treat

as in abused

to inflict physical or emotional harm upon anyone who ill-treats their pets should not be allowed to have any

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of ill-treated Declarants describe detentions following their civil immigration arrests that deprived them of basic human dignity, including being ill-treated, with inadequate food and uncomfortable and crowded sleeping facilities, and being denied medical attention. — New York Times, 2 Dec. 2025 There is a troubling suggestion of abuse, implying that Jack might have been ill-treated by his mom (and saved by Helen), rather than heartlessly abandoned. — Tomris Laffly, Variety, 14 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ill-treated

Verb

The gathering of seven survivors includes one who was an adult when abused, a recognition of the new frontier of the abuse crisis facing the church.

— ABC News, ABC News, 21 Sep. 2026
Throughout the season, the show jumps back and forth from Lizzie’s story to the 1990s, where serial killer Aileen Wuornos (Sarah Paulson) is on the run after murdering a series of men who abused her.

— Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of abused

Verb

Ultimately, the show attempts to draw a parallel between Lizzie Borden and Aileen Wuornos, portraying them as two women abused and mistreated by society who dared to fight back.

— Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Sep. 2026
The other has been dismissed or mistreated in a clinic before, and reads the same sentence as confirmation that they were not told the whole story the first time.

— Aleeza Gerstein, The Conversation, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of mistreated

Verb

Two students who had been visiting the palace, Eduardo Matson Ospino and Yolanda Ernestina Santodomingo, were allegedly classified as especiales, taken to a military facility, blindfolded, interrogated, tortured and threatened with execution.

— Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 18 Sep. 2026
Prosecutors say Alsheikh, seeking to quash political dissent, sent certain prisoners to a wing of Adra where they were held in small isolation cells and tortured.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of tortured

Verb

His descriptions of being bullied in high school for his sexuality resemble plotlines from Very Special Episodes of TV, and his relationship with his ailing father is similarly generic.

— Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2026
Yes, Stark has painted, or, more accurately, anodized, powder-coated, and otherwise bullied into submission just about everything to black.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of bullied

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“Ill-treated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill-treated. Accessed 25 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of ill-treated

verb

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