ill-treat

verb

ˈil-ˈtrēt How to pronounce ill-treat (audio)
Definition of ill-treatnext
as in to abuse
to inflict physical or emotional harm upon anyone who ill-treats their pets should not be allowed to have any

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ill-treat
  1. abuse
  2. mistreat
  3. maltreat
  4. bully
  5. torture
Verb
  • Saturday afternoon, officers responded to a call reporting a coyote pup being abused in the 10800 block of South Sacramento Avenue by three males, Chicago police said, Officers discovered a dead pup on private property and the coyote was removed..
    Deanese Williams-Harris, Chicago Tribune, 15 Jan. 2025
  • In other words, the steadfast commitment to celebrating diversity meant allowing Pakistani men to abuse white girls without consequence.
    The Editors, National Review, 14 Jan. 2025
Definition of abuse
Verb
  • An investigation has been launched after a viral social media post allegedly showed a Border Patrol agent mistreating a K9 at the Falfurrias Border Patrol checkpoint in Texas.
    Dan Perry, Newsweek, 2 Jan. 2025
  • The film is in part about how men get away with mistreating women around them.
    Nicholas Kristof, The Mercury News, 29 Dec. 2024
Definition of mistreat
Verb
  • 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
Definition of maltreat
Verb
  • After spending two days with the Heat on the Northern California portion of their most recent road trip, this much was made quite clear: The Heat are not about to be hurried or bullied into a bad deal.
    Sam Amick, The Athletic, 9 Jan. 2025
  • Trump responded by repeatedly bullying him, threatening to annex Canada.
    Stephen Maher, TIME, 7 Jan. 2025
Definition of bully
Verb
  • Antetokounmpo dominated the game as a facilitator, torturing the Spurs’ help defenders with his passing, tallying eight assists to go along with his 25 points and 16 rebounds.
    Eric Nehm, The Athletic, 9 Jan. 2025
  • During the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, who ruled the Philippines from 1972 to 1986, the United States trained and funded a Philippine army that tortured, jailed, and disappeared thousands of dissidents.
    Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
Definition of torture
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near ill-treat

ill-tempered

ill-treat

ill-treated

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Cite this Entry

“Ill-treat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill-treat. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

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More from Merriam-Webster on ill-treat

Nglish: Translation of ill-treat for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of ill-treat for Arabic Speakers

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