mal·treat

(măl-trēt′)

tr.v. mal·treat·ed, mal·treat·ing, mal·treats

To treat in a rough or cruel way; abuse. See Synonyms at abuse.

mal·treat′ment n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

maltreat

(mælˈtriːt)

(tr) to treat badly, cruelly, or inconsiderately

[C18: from French maltraiter]

malˈtreater n

malˈtreatment n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

mal•treat

(mælˈtrit)

v.t.

to treat or handle badly or roughly; abuse.

[1700–10; earlier maltrait < French maltraiter. See mal-, treat]

mal•treat′er, n.

mal•treat′ment, n.

maltreat

Past participle: maltreated
Gerund: maltreating

Imperative
maltreat
maltreat

Present
I maltreat
you maltreat
he/she/it maltreats
we maltreat
you maltreat
they maltreat

Preterite
I maltreated
you maltreated
he/she/it maltreated
we maltreated
you maltreated
they maltreated

Present Continuous
I am maltreating
you are maltreating
he/she/it is maltreating
we are maltreating
you are maltreating
they are maltreating

Present Perfect
I have maltreated
you have maltreated
he/she/it has maltreated
we have maltreated
you have maltreated
they have maltreated

Past Continuous
I was maltreating
you were maltreating
he/she/it was maltreating
we were maltreating
you were maltreating
they were maltreating

Past Perfect
I had maltreated
you had maltreated
he/she/it had maltreated
we had maltreated
you had maltreated
they had maltreated

Future
I will maltreat
you will maltreat
he/she/it will maltreat
we will maltreat
you will maltreat
they will maltreat

Future Perfect
I will have maltreated
you will have maltreated
he/she/it will have maltreated
we will have maltreated
you will have maltreated
they will have maltreated

Future Continuous
I will be maltreating
you will be maltreating
he/she/it will be maltreating
we will be maltreating
you will be maltreating
they will be maltreating

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been maltreating
you have been maltreating
he/she/it has been maltreating
we have been maltreating
you have been maltreating
they have been maltreating

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been maltreating
you will have been maltreating
he/she/it will have been maltreating
we will have been maltreating
you will have been maltreating
they will have been maltreating

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been maltreating
you had been maltreating
he/she/it had been maltreating
we had been maltreating
you had been maltreating
they had been maltreating

Conditional
I would maltreat
you would maltreat
he/she/it would maltreat
we would maltreat
you would maltreat
they would maltreat

Past Conditional
I would have maltreated
you would have maltreated
he/she/it would have maltreated
we would have maltreated
you would have maltreated
they would have maltreated

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Verb

maltreat - treat badly; "This boss abuses his workers"; "She is always stepping on others to get ahead"

abuse, ill-treat, ill-use, mistreat, step

do by, treat, handle - interact in a certain way; "Do right by her"; "Treat him with caution, please"; "Handle the press reporters gently"

kick around - treat badly; abuse; "They won't have me to kick around any more!"

maltreat

verb abuse, damage, hurt, injure, harm, bully, mistreat, ill-treat, handle roughly He was not maltreated during his detention.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

maltreat

verb

To hurt or injure by maltreatment:

abuse, ill-treat, ill-use, mishandle, mistreat, misuse.

Translations

maltreat

[mælˈtriːt] VT → maltratar, tratar mal

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

maltreat

[ˌmælˈtriːt] vt [+ prisoner, woman, child] → maltraiter

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

maltreat

vt → schlecht behandeln; (using violence) → misshandeln

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

maltreat

[ˌmælˈtriːt] vt → maltrattare

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

When its head was knocked off, out came a stream of gold, which the Carpenter quickly picked up and said, "Well, I think thou art altogether contradictory and unreasonable; for when I paid you honor, I reaped no benefits: but now that I maltreat you I am loaded with an abundance of riches."

View in context

I have called him an atavism, but in this he was worse than an atavism, for the males of the lower animals do not maltreat and murder their mates.

View in context

"What!" was Gluck's reply--"to sell to you that which would enable you to enslave and maltreat suffering Humanity?" And though the war departments of the nations have continued to experiment in their secret laboratories, they have so far failed to light upon the slightest trace of the secret.

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If we maltreat her we not only couldn't collect a sou, but they'd send us to prison for our pains.

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They were naturally rough and brutal, as primitive men are supposed to have been since the dawn of humanity, but they did not go out of their way to maltreat me.

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It is those who injure women who get the most kindness from them--they are born timid and tyrants and maltreat those who are humblest before them.

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"Why, to be sure I am!" returned the now unnosed squire; "Tom Cecial I am, gossip and friend Sancho Panza; and I'll tell you presently the means and tricks and falsehoods by which I have been brought here; but in the meantime, beg and entreat of your master not to touch, maltreat, wound, or slay the Knight of the Mirrors whom he has at his feet; because, beyond all dispute, it is the rash and ill-advised bachelor Samson Carrasco, our fellow townsman."

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Like all people of similar character, whether civilized or savage, they are prone to be imposed upon; and are especially maltreated by the ruthless Blackfeet, who harass them in their villages, steal their horses by night, or openly carry them off in the face of day, without provoking pursuit or retaliation.

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Nor would they permit Gabriel to be any way maltreated, say or do what he would; so that it came to pass that Gabriel had the complete freedom of the ship.

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Sometimes he glanced over the magazines and newspapers to see how "Ephemera" was being maltreated. It had made a hit.

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He had been there at least an hour and a half, lacerated, maltreated, mocked incessantly, and almost stoned.

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Then he realised that this was Mit-sah, one of his own particular gods, who was being maltreated. It was no reasoned impulse that made White Fang do what he then did.

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