maltreated 1 of 2

adjective

as in abused

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maltreated

2 of 2

verb

past tense of maltreat
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

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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

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 maltreated
Verb
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for maltreated
  1. abused
  2. bullied
  3. attacked
  4. tortured
  5. mauled
  6. mistreated
  7. manhandled
  8. ambushed
Adjective
  • At the end of the poem, Odysseus transforms from an abused guest to a murderous host, neither of which is ideal.
    — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 20 July 2026
  • Sara O’Meara is a cofounder and CEO of Childhelp, a nonprofit dedicated to serving the needs of abused, neglected and at-risk children.
    — Sara O'Meara, Baltimore Sun, 26 June 2026
Definition of abused
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
Verb
  • Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Friday that Ukraine attacked four Russian oil refineries overnight, but air defenses fended off the attacks.
    — HANNA ARHIROVA, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Trust took another nosedive when OpenAI’s agents attacked Hugging Face this summer and, in a world-first, a rogue model hacked the Australian Government’s website.
    — Yerbol Orynbayev, Fortune, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of attacked
Verb
  • Sarsour denies committing those crimes and his attorneys say he was tortured and coerced into confessing in both instances.
    — Cybele Mayes-Osterman, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
  • To succeed, the Sparrows would need to sell the story, even if tortured.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of tortured
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 mauled
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
  • Being manhandled at home by a team with the sport’s sixth-lowest payroll is a negative.
    — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 1 Oct. 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 manhandled
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
  • Investigators later determined the shooting happened in the area of Pontiac Lake Road and Summit Drive, where the four men were ambushed by several other men armed with assault rifles.
    — Paula Wethington, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of ambushed

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Cite this Entry

“Maltreated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/maltreated. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

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