put-upon
adjective
imposed upon; ill-used.
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:
The people Racine and Anaia come across are as put-upon and exhausted as they are.
From Salon ● May 19, 2026
Not, of course, that poor, put-upon Catherine, who spent most of her married life being pregnant, is the only victim.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
And he was definitely a star — billed over the adults who played his parents and perennially put-upon neighbor Mr. Wilson, memorably played by the great Joseph Kearns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2025
Scott wrote in The Times, “you are likely to leave this one feeling as grouchy and put-upon as the title character.”
From New York Times ● Jun. 7, 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 think the more pressure that’s put upon them to improve the condition of the vessels, to raise compliance with international law and convention makes a big difference,” Barata said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
“She kind of has this expectation that’s put upon her already that ‘oh, she’s going to be like her sister,’” Gisele said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2026
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
“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
“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.
