as in abused
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1
as in bullied
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in attacked
to abuse physically
if you maltreat the puppy, we will take it away immediately
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of maltreated
Laura Schwab Reese, The Conversation, 2 Sep. 2025
Verb
Social media can’t replace offline resources for children who are being maltreated.
—Laura Schwab Reese, The Conversation, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for maltreated
Adjective
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Help for abused animals gets national recognition From backyard breeders to dog-fighting rings, smaller law enforcement agencies can quickly become overwhelmed when responding to major animal hoarding and abuse cases.—
Laura L. Davis,
Nashville Tennessean,
25 Nov. 2025
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Its abused hydrology forms the armature of a shadow city—a new form of urban infrastructure that is unplanned and unwelcome—within a city that does not acknowledge its shadow.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Despite their efforts to reunite her with her siblings on the lake, she was rejected and bullied, and eventually taken in by Marshall and his wife, PJ.—
Ryan Gillespie,
The Orlando Sentinel,
24 Jan. 2026
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Taylor’s reinvention story has always been driven by a belief in her artistry and a refusal to be bullied or controlled by those with legal paper rights to her catalogue but no rights to her talent.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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One study in 2020 surveyed 261 herders in Mongolia, another common habitat for snow leopards; while many reported having seen snow leopards, or had their livestock attacked by snow leopards, none reported any attacks on humans.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
27 Jan. 2026
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The upstream piranhas attacked her, and her blood flowing downstream attracted the rest of the piranhas, leaving the creek clear for the herd to cross.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The regime imprisoned Nejati and reportedly tortured him.—
Benjamin Weinthal,
FOXNews.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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And so even people who were heroes of the nation, they were beaten, tortured, taken for reeducation.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The second fatality occurred in 2001, when 9-year-old Clinton Gage was mauled on K’gari, then called Fraser Island, by two dingoes who also attacked his younger brother.—
Hilary Whiteman,
CNN Money,
24 Jan. 2026
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In September, a great white shark mauled surfer Mercury Psillakis to death at a popular northern Sydney ocean beach.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Students who are mistreated by their schools — including victims and accused students alike — have few other venues to pursue justice.—
Collin Binkley,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Jan. 2026
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Historically America’s lawmakers addressed the human and environmental impacts of the Industrial Revolution’s transformational technology only after rivers ran with toxic chemicals and mistreated workers picketed.—
Krista Kafer,
Denver Post,
25 Jan. 2026
Verb
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After his holstered gun was discovered under his coat and removed while he was being manhandled, he was executed on the spot by one of the officers despite lying unarmed and defenseless on the ground.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
27 Jan. 2026
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From the first-quarter red-zone stand to the fourth-quarter strip sack that left Justin Herbert twisted, bloodied and dazed, the Patriots defense manhandled the Los Angeles Chargers in the teams’ wild-card playoff matchup.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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While refusing to fight for the Confederacy and trying to reach safety in Mexico, the group was ambushed by Confederate soldiers on horseback in the 1862 Battle of the Nueces, also called the Nueces massacre.—
Alexis Simmerman,
Austin American Statesman,
10 Jan. 2026
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The Colorado Avalanche ambushed the Ottawa Senators’ goaltenders so badly Thursday night, the visitors signed a new one in the middle of the game.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
9 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Maltreated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/maltreated. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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