MALTREAT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does maltreat mean? 

• MALTREAT (verb)
  The verb MALTREAT has 1 sense:

1. treat badly

  Familiarity information: MALTREAT used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MALTREAT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they maltreat    ... he / she / it maltreats   
Past simple: maltreated   
Past participle: maltreated   
-ing form: maltreating   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Treat badly

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

abuse; ill-treat; ill-use; maltreat; mistreat; step

Context example:

She is always stepping on others to get ahead

Hypernyms (to "maltreat" is one way to...):

do by; handle; treat (interact in a certain way)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "maltreat"):

kick around (treat badly; abuse)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

maltreater (someone who abuses)

maltreatment (cruel or inhumane treatment)

 Context examples 

Sometimes he glanced over the magazines and newspapers to see how "Ephemera" was being maltreated.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

So Collie took advantage of her sex to pick upon White Fang and maltreat him.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

“And I give you warning, Wolf Larsen, that I may forget love of my own life in the desire to kill you if you go too far in maltreating those poor wretches.”

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

I endeavoured to apologize for the accident, but it was evident that these books which I had so unfortunately maltreated were very precious objects in the eyes of their owner.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

That, marching him constantly up and down by the collar (as if he had been taking too much laudanum), she, at those times, shook him, rumpled his hair, made light of his linen, stopped his ears as if she confounded them with her own, and otherwise tousled and maltreated him.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Laurie threw back his head, and laughed so heartily at this attack, that the felt hat fell off, and Jo walked on it, which insult only afforded him an opportunity for expatiating on the advantages of a rough-and-ready costume, as he folded up the maltreated hat, and stuffed it into his pocket.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Then he realised that this was Mit-sah, one of his own particular gods, who was being maltreated.

(White Fang, by Jack London)