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.
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
We felt ourselves to be put-upon entry-level hirelings right when “The Devil Wears Prada” came out in 2006.
From New York Times • May 2, 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
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.
