maltreat
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
maltreatsimple
-
maltreatssimple
-
have maltreatedperfect
-
has maltreatedperfect
-
am maltreatingprogressive
-
are maltreatingprogressive
-
is maltreatingprogressive
-
have been maltreatingperfect progressive
-
has been maltreatingperfect progressive
Past
-
maltreatedsimple
-
had maltreatedperfect
-
was maltreatingprogressive
-
were maltreatingprogressive
-
had been maltreatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of maltreat
First recorded in 1700–10; earlier maltrait, from French maltraiter; see mal-, treat
Explanation
If you maltreat someone, you treat them very badly. It's best not to maltreat your little sister — she may grow up to be bigger, stronger, and smarter than you. Also, it's just not very nice. If you're cruel to someone on purpose, you maltreat them. You can also say abuse or mistreat. If a big company maltreats its workers, they may rebel by going on strike or joining a lawsuit. This verb combines the prefix mal-, "badly, poorly, or wrong," and the word treat, from the Latin root tractare, "manage or handle."
Vocabulary lists containing maltreat
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.
Bosses and colleagues who maltreat subordinates with ridicule or lack of consideration are as common as the companies who protect them.
From Salon • Jan. 22, 2022
“How can you maltreat such a beautiful woman?” he was said to have asked the errant husband.
From The Guardian • Mar. 14, 2019
There are no drum or paddles to maltreat the clothes.
From Time Magazine Archive
Perhaps the subtlest of all his comic achievements is his parody of the way in which many people from his own proletarian background maltreat the culture they so earnestly desire to achieve.
From Time Magazine Archive
Other people who wore straw hats in October get removed from under them more or less violently; but, somehow, no one had felt called upon to maltreat Ole.
From At Good Old Siwash by Fitch, George
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.
