as in abusing
to inflict physical or emotional harm upon
the foster parent who had been mistreating his charges was sent to jail
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Recent Examples of mistreating
The facility has also faced allegations of mistreating prisoners.
—
Kristine Phillips, IndyStar, 12 Aug. 2025
John Amos‘ daughter has taken legal action against her brother with accusations of mistreating their father, which ultimately resulted in his death.
—Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 3 Sep. 2019
Kristine Phillips, IndyStar, 12 Aug. 2025
John Amos‘ daughter has taken legal action against her brother with accusations of mistreating their father, which ultimately resulted in his death.
—Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mistreating
Verb
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And when markets fail, public institutions must act to prevent dominant players from abusing their power.—
Ryan Whitwam,
ArsTechnica,
5 Sep. 2025
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Langley says Axon is a monopolist abusing its market position to choke out competition.—
Danielle Chemtob,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Jamie Simpson of Covington was sentenced in March to 60 years in prison for holding his wife captive and torturing her for hours before barricading himself inside her home in a lengthy standoff with police.—
Quinlan Bentley,
The Enquirer,
3 Sep. 2025
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Emmett was just 14 when he was kidnapped from his great-uncle’s house by two White men who later admitted to beating and torturing the teen before shooting him in the head and throwing his body into the Tallahatchie River, weighed down by a 75-pound cotton gin fan.—
Rebekah Riess,
CNN Money,
31 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Owen's best friend, Khloe Wilson, was suspected of sending the messages early in the investigation due to past tensions with Lauryn and bullying accusations.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Sep. 2025
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One year, two large females started bullying a much smaller male.—
Sophie Hartley,
IndyStar,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mistreating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mistreating. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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