hard done by
idiom
British
: treated harshly or unfairly
He felt very hard done by when he was laid off after many years of faithful service.
Examples of hard done by in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Arsenal will feel hard done by over another controversial sending-off changing the flow of their game when Lewis-Skelly was dismissed just before half-time.
—
Art De Roché, The Athletic, 25 Jan. 2025
Gay men confronting this history can sometimes feel a little hard done by, as if they had been deprived of a chance to be heroic, or even naughty.
—Nikhil Krishnan, The New Yorker, 16 Jan. 2023
Burnley felt hard done by when Ashley Barnes appeared to equalize in the 19th minute.
—Paul Gittings, CNN, 27 Dec. 2020
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Art De Roché, The Athletic, 25 Jan. 2025
Gay men confronting this history can sometimes feel a little hard done by, as if they had been deprived of a chance to be heroic, or even naughty.
—Nikhil Krishnan, The New Yorker, 16 Jan. 2023
Burnley felt hard done by when Ashley Barnes appeared to equalize in the 19th minute.
—Paul Gittings, CNN, 27 Dec. 2020
Dictionary Entries Near hard done by
Cite this Entry
“Hard done by.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hard%20done%20by. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
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