ill-treat
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ill-treat
First recorded in 1695–1705
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In these quotations, to vanquish foes and destroy enemies does not mean to ill-treat others in any way, or even to seek victory over them in a traditional sense.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 11, 2019
He did not ill-treat the lady, though left all alone with her.
From The White Gauntlet by Reid, Mayne
What man would under-feed, ill-treat, or poorly care for a horse that he expected to serve him, in return, promptly and well?
From History of Cuba; or, Notes of a Traveller in the Tropics Being a Political, Historical, and Statistical Account of the Island, from its First Discovery to the Present Time by Ballou, Maturin Murray
To persecute one is to ill-treat him for opinion's sake, commonly for religious belief; to oppress is generally for political or pecuniary motives.
From English Synonyms and Antonyms With Notes on the Correct Use of Prepositions by Fernald, James Champlin
Do you suppose that Herr Rossel, or the baron, or I myself, would suffer any one to ill-treat our little Zenz?
From In Paradise A Novel. Vol. II by Heyse, Paul
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
