mistreat

verb

mis·​treat ˌmis-ˈtrēt 

mistreated; mistreating; mistreats

transitive verb

: to treat badly : abuse

mistreatment

ˌmis-ˈtrēt-mənt 

noun

Synonyms

• abuse
• brutalize
• bully
• ill-treat
• ill-use
• kick around
• maltreat
• manhandle
• mess over [slang]
• mishandle
• misuse

Examples of mistreat in a Sentence

They accuse him of mistreating his wife.

She claimed she had been mistreated by the police.

Recent Examples on the Web

People who get mistreated have usually done something to bring it on themselves. —Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 20 June 2025

As the noise pierced through the house day and night, keeping her children awake, Natalie was concerned about dogs possibly being mistreated nearby. —Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 June 2025

Like a dog, if mistreated or provoked, AI can bite back but in general the idea is that like the sheepdog, AI can make the professional (doctor, commando or researcher) do their job in a more effective way. —Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025

Ware pleaded guilty to felony mistreating or torturing an animal on March 20 after reaching an agreement with the prosecution. —Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 6 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for mistreat

• amit
• athlete
• backseat
• blackfeet
• broadsheet
• browbeat
• buckwheat
• compete
• compleat
• complete
• conceit
• concrete

Kids Definition

mistreat

verb

mis·​treat (ˈ)mis-ˈtrēt 

: to treat badly : abuse

mistreatment

-mənt 

noun