MALTREAT Synonyms: 74 Similar and Opposite Words

maltreat

verb

ˌmal-ˈtrēt

Definition of maltreat

as in to abuse

to inflict physical or emotional harm upon a manager fired for maltreating the staff with needless insults a home for children who have been deprived and maltreated

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to attack

to abuse physically if you maltreat the puppy, we will take it away immediately

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 maltreat Dependency courts most often involve children who have been removed from parents because they were neglected, abandoned or maltreated. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 10 June 2026 There are bosses in companies that maltreat their workers globally. — Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2026 Many maltreating parents struggle with chronic conditions that start well before their first child and will impede their capacity to provide safe and appropriate care indefinitely. — Sarah A. Font, Chicago Tribune, 23 Apr. 2026 Canadian researchers found that older adults who were maltreated as children may face a significantly higher risk of cancer decades later. — Rob Williams, EverydayHealth.com, 22 Apr. 2026 The Adams County Health and Human Services Department’s initial assessment indicated that the infant was maltreated, though a final autopsy report is still pending, TMZ reported. — Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 9 Mar. 2026 Social media can’t replace offline resources for children who are being maltreated. — Laura Schwab Reese, The Conversation, 2 Sep. 2025 One to One concert the duo organized as a response to Geraldo Rivera’s truly shocking exposé of the Willowbrook institution, where children with disabilities were horrifically maltreated and abused. — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 29 Apr. 2025 Even the first stage of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine - on the pretext of protecting Russian speakers being maltreated - parallels Hitler’s sending shock troops into Czechoslovakia to purportedly safeguard German speakers along the Czech borderlands. — Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024

Recent Examples of Synonyms for maltreat

Verb

Meanwhile, local Church leaders hope the pope's visit will repair the Church's standing after a crushing 2021 report found that some 330,000 French children had been abused by Catholic clergy and lay leaders over seven decades.

— Joshua McElwee, Arkansas Online, 26 Sep. 2026
An example of warrantless seizure could be a case in which an officer sees a dog being abused and takes the animal.

— Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026

Definition of abuse

Verb

An official of Congo's ruling party UDPS, Marie-Célestin Karondwa, was attacked by unknown suspects Sunday for defending the government's measures against Ebola on a radio program and was in critical condition, according to the UDPS.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 29 Sep. 2026
Additionally, the agents were apparently not instructed to attack or compromise the UN website.

— Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of attack

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
Even more consequentially, some jihadi groups turned Muslim publics against them by mistreating Muslim civilians.

— Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of mistreat

Verb

Hours later, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, announced the suspension of Acosta’s press pass, and, for good measure, falsely accused him of manhandling the aide who wanted the mike back.

— Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2026
He was brought to the prison infirmary, where numerous guards surrounded, punched, kicked, choked, dropped and manhandled him.

— Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of manhandle

Verb

Grande had been the subject of a wave of speculation, concern and bullying regarding her physical appearance following images of the actress-singer going viral in late July.

— James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026
But Gresko, who alleges that some of her older children had also experienced bullying at the school, says the school never contacted her.

— Brian Brant, PEOPLE, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of bully

Verb

When his grandfather was mauled by a leopard caught in a trap set for an impala, however, Mgesi began to feel that the dangers of hunting wildlife outweighed its benefits for humans.

— Juliet Kinsman, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Sep. 2026
The native dogs are known to have killed baby Azaria Chamberlain, who was taken in the outback in 1980, and mauled Canadian tourist Piper James, who died on K’Gari off the coast of Queensland earlier this year.

— Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of maul

Verb

However, the night took a turn when Kanye West ambushed Swift’s acceptance speech, creating one of the most infamous moments in the awards show’s history — and subsequently sparking a years-long feud with Swift.

— Emily Weaver, PEOPLE, 27 Sep. 2026
Hansen, who left NBC in 2013 but remains a leader in the pervert-ambushing space, has spoken about having considered a sting operation against Jeffrey Epstein in 2015.

— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of ambush

Verb

Since the Iran war began, there has been increasing confusion over the number of troops who have been injured and killed, unlike in many other overseas conflicts when data is reported routinely.

— Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 28 Sep. 2026
Some horses come in severely injured, which is no longer necessarily a death sentence.

— Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of injure

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“Maltreat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/maltreat. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of maltreat

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