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:
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
The people Racine and Anaia come across are as put-upon and exhausted as they are.
From Salon ● May 19, 2026
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
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
Hermione was already queuing outside, carrying an armful of heavy books and looking put-upon.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
“And so to put upon yourself that every waking minute is oriented around your kids is not a way to live.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 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
But, in the wake of the biggest trade so far this season, I thought back to the mission statement the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations put upon himself last winter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 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
And so, even with the Sicilian on his neck and the Princess around his shoulders and the Spaniard at his waist, Fezzik did not feel in the least bit put upon.
From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
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.
