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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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

Some dogs fear brooms, vacuum cleaners or other household products, particularly if they’ve been hurt or abused in the past.

— BestReviews, Mercury News, 2 July 2026
Lamar called out Drake for allegedly having a secret child, and Drake claimed that Kendrick abused his fiancée.

— René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 July 2026

Definition of abused

Verb

There’s a lot of talk about dogs being bred and sold, and Lopez said she’s seen evidence of animals being mistreated.

— Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
By 1790, half of the world's coffee was being grown in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, in what is today Haiti, Pendergrast says, where slaves were routinely mistreated, raped and murdered.

— James Doubek, NPR, 3 July 2026

Definition of mistreated

Verb

Walker was abducted, raped, tortured and murdered after attending a Valentine’s Day dance with her boyfriend.

— Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2026
The actual abduction was committed, according to the feds, by supermarket owner Abu Chowdhury — who’s accused of heading a kidnapping ring that also snatched and tortured two men who crossed his vengeful wife, Iffat Lubna.

— John Annese, New York Daily News, 4 July 2026

Definition of tortured

Verb

Bang-geul was bullied by her older half-siblings, who looked down on their younger sister because of her mom’s former status as a domestic employee.

— Kayti Burt, Time, 6 July 2026
This was a rabid, partisan home-soil advantage that flat-out bullied the squad into surviving.

— Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 2 July 2026

Definition of bullied

Browse Nearby Words

ill-treat

ill-treated

ill-treating

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Ill-treated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill-treated. Accessed 11 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of ill-treated

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

xeric

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Popular in Wordplay

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10

Popular

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes