put-upon
adjective
imposed upon; ill-used.
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put-upon
American
[poot-uh-pon, -pawn]
/ ˈpʊt əˌpɒn, -ˌpɔn /
adjective
put upon
British
verb
-
to presume on (a person's generosity, good nature, etc); take advantage of
he's always being put upon
-
to impose hardship on; maltreat
Etymology
Origin of put-upon
First recorded in 1915–20
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.
See Examples For:
From this odd, real-life figure Mr. Mintzker turns to the fictional tale of a renowned prince from ancient times who, while visiting Egypt, is transformed by a jealous pharaoh into a miserable, put-upon horse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
While Mescal’s no stranger to playing the put-upon father in his relatively brief yet prolific career, his brooding verges on laughable.
From Salon ● Nov. 30, 2025
She could be sweet, evil, overbearing, put-upon, thoughtful, impulsive, girlish, vulnerable or manipulative and superimpose selected qualities for extra complexity, always with a compressed energy, obvious or veiled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 30, 2024
Firstborn daughters are having a moment in the spotlight, at least online, with memes and think pieces offering a sense of gratification to responsible, put-upon big sisters everywhere.
From New York Times ● Apr. 15, 2024
Unable to work either the dishwater or Methuselah’s long memory into a proper ending for his parable, Our Father merely looked at us all and heaved the great sigh of the put-upon male.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
I want to emphasize the pressure that was put upon me as a new mom to take pain medication after I refused several times.
From Slate ● Jan. 11, 2026
Turns out this same generation may also have been the most put upon and longest suffering.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
“We may forget or feel put upon by our responsibilities but we remain whole inside with memories of freedom to express without consequence. We don’t become other people as we age.”
From Salon ● May 27, 2024
Ms Reeves said she was concerned about the "huge pressure that MPs have been put upon, both leading up to the vote but also what we have seen this week."
From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2023
“Then if you aren’t sick what favorable construction can you put upon your behavior? Any excuse for it?”
From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee
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.
