1
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
2
as in to attack
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 maltreat
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
Lie number 2: Israel has been oppressing and maltreating Palestinians (and denying them a state) for 75 years.
—Efrem Sigel, New York Daily News, 25 Jan. 2024
In 2022, the World Health Organization estimated that 1 billion children were maltreated each year around the globe.
—Marc D. Hauser, TIME, 3 Apr. 2024
The revelations come after years of intense scrutiny of Texas’ child welfare system, which included reports by blue-ribbon panels, a state district judge in Travis County and a state comptroller citing weak protection of youngsters maltreated by birth families and then roughly handled by the state.
—Allie Morris, Dallas News, 30 June 2023
The family is where you are first misjudged, maltreated, belittled, lied to and beaten—or not.
—Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 6 June 2023
Coincidentally, a landmark incident that led to the death of a Nigerian happened in 2009 in Guangzhou, where Nigerians were recently maltreated.
—Abdul-Gafar Tobi Oshodi, Quartz Africa, 31 May 2020
Youngsters who live in neighborhoods with more bars or liquor stores are more likely to be maltreated.
—Kunmi Sobowale, Scientific American, 1 July 2017
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
Lie number 2: Israel has been oppressing and maltreating Palestinians (and denying them a state) for 75 years.
—Efrem Sigel, New York Daily News, 25 Jan. 2024
In 2022, the World Health Organization estimated that 1 billion children were maltreated each year around the globe.
—Marc D. Hauser, TIME, 3 Apr. 2024
The revelations come after years of intense scrutiny of Texas’ child welfare system, which included reports by blue-ribbon panels, a state district judge in Travis County and a state comptroller citing weak protection of youngsters maltreated by birth families and then roughly handled by the state.
—Allie Morris, Dallas News, 30 June 2023
The family is where you are first misjudged, maltreated, belittled, lied to and beaten—or not.
—Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 6 June 2023
Coincidentally, a landmark incident that led to the death of a Nigerian happened in 2009 in Guangzhou, where Nigerians were recently maltreated.
—Abdul-Gafar Tobi Oshodi, Quartz Africa, 31 May 2020
Youngsters who live in neighborhoods with more bars or liquor stores are more likely to be maltreated.
—Kunmi Sobowale, Scientific American, 1 July 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for maltreat
Verb
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Three-time gold medal sprinter Gabby Thomas was verbally abused at a track meet in Philadelphia, not the first harassment this year.—
Nick Canepa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 June 2025
-
In 2011, Gilbert developed pancreatitis after years of abusing drugs and alcohol.—
Ashley Hume,
FOXNews.com,
5 June 2025
Verb
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In a May 2, 2017 text, Ventura was clear with Khorram that Combs allegedly attacked her.—
Rolling Stone,
Rolling Stone,
16 June 2025
-
Even after December 7, 1941, when Japan attacked some of the territories that McKinley had claimed—Hawaii, the Philippines, and Guam—people from Kansas or California didn’t necessarily see any reason to don uniforms.—
Daniel Immerwahr,
New Yorker,
16 June 2025
Verb
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More recently, in June of last year, thirty-four senators sent a letter to Andy Jassy, the C.E.O. of Amazon, addressing allegations that the company mistreated drivers in its Delivery Service Partner program.—
Eyal Press,
New Yorker,
30 May 2025
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This is not the singer’s first time being accused of mistreating animals.—
DeMicia Inman,
VIBE.com,
28 May 2025
Verb
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The Thunder are the kings of the Western Conference after manhandling the Minnesota Timberwolves, 124-94, in Game 5 of the conference finals on Wednesday night.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
29 May 2025
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Too little, too late, my friend — but at least June looks surprised/appreciative as Lydia is manhandled into a noose of her own.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
20 May 2025
Verb
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Kids with alopecia areata get bullied in school every day.—
Shamsha Damani,
Health,
13 June 2025
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Cash noted she was bullied throughout school for her learning disability.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 June 2025
Verb
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In 2023, another grizzly in the region was killed, after fatally mauling a woman on a forest trail west of Yellowstone and attacking a person in Idaho three years before that.—
Sarah Lynch Baldwin,
CBS News,
19 May 2025
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Owners of dog that fatally mauled CT woman want it in sanctuary.—
Diana Urban,
Hartford Courant,
15 May 2025
Verb
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Federal officials said one immigration agent was injured when a rock shattered his vehicle’s windshield, and the U.S. Marshals Service reported arrests for obstructing operations, according to the Times.—
Lia Russell,
Sacbee.com,
8 June 2025
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Officials said 15 people between the ages of 25 and 88 were injured with burns.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
7 June 2025
Verb
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Highlighting these challenges, late Wednesday Hamas ambushed a bus carrying two dozen Palestinian GHF workers to a distribution center in southern Gaza, killing eight of them and injuring others, the GHF said, in an attack that came after days of Hamas threats.—
Taylor Luck,
Christian Science Monitor,
13 June 2025
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Prosecutors claim the alleged hitmen stalked Bennett in Los Angeles and ambushed him at a gas station near the Beverly Center shopping mall, firing at least 18 rounds from multiple guns, including a machine gun.—
Nancy Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
9 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Maltreat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/maltreat. Accessed 20 Jun. 2025.
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