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

On the receiving end, Hugging Face reported that a malicious dataset abused two code execution paths in its processing pipeline - a remote-code loader and a template injection in a dataset configuration.

— Janakiram MSV, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
Alice notes that the women were not allowed to bathe or even eat every day; the women were captives, treated like animals, and the men who abused them never faced any consequences.

— Erin Qualey, Vulture, 27 July 2026

Definition of abused

Verb

Detectives said Beemer claimed his mother had mistreated him for years, including molesting him.

— Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 30 July 2026
For months, Democratic members of Congress and several advocacy organizations have called for Camp East Montana to be closed, citing reports that detainees have been routinely mistreated since its opening in August 2025.

— Ryan J. Foley, Los Angeles Times, 28 July 2026

Definition of mistreated

Verb

Dandara dos Santos was tortured and beaten to death by a group of twelve people, who eventually tossed her body in a wheelbarrow, shot her, and posted a video of the crime on social media.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 July 2026
Yes, Emmett Till, the 14-year-old Black boy who was abducted, tortured and lynched in Mississippi in 1955 after a White woman accused him of making an advance toward her.

— Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 23 July 2026

Definition of tortured

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“Ill-treated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill-treated. Accessed 2 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of ill-treated

verb

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