MALTREATING Synonyms: 75 Similar and Opposite Words

maltreating

verb

present participle of maltreat

as in abusing

to inflict physical or emotional harm upon a manager fired for maltreating the staff with needless insults a home for children who have been deprived and maltreated

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in attacking

to abuse physically if you maltreat the puppy, we will take it away immediately

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for maltreating

Verb

As Rolling Stone and Sportico have reported, the Riverside plaintiffs all allege that the church should have known that Lorch was abusing children.

— Luke Cyphers, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2026
Damian Reynolds, 34, was sentenced to a 20-year prison sentence — the maximum allowed under the law —after he was convicted of abusing two women, according to the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office.

— Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of abusing

Verb

Selma Blair was arrested Sunday after allegedly attacking crew members on board a Delta flight into New York City.

— Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026
Arriving crews reported heavy fire on the third floor and began interior operations, attacking the fire with multiple handlines, Hopkins said.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of attacking

Verb

Guevara has never been charged with a crime in connection with allegedly torturing supsects, and the statute of limitations has long since expired on any such charges, Felker said.

— Chris Tye, CBS News, 5 Oct. 2026
In 1996, Pike was found guilty of first-degree murder for beating, torturing and killing Slemmer, a fellow Jobs Corps worker, in a remote area of the University of Tennessee Agricultural campus.

— Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of torturing

Verb

Videos from that day showed militants gunning down fleeing revelers, shooting the wounded at point-blank range and ambushing those seeking refuge in bomb shelters.

— Melanie Lidman, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
Hansen, who left NBC in 2013 but remains a leader in the pervert-ambushing space, has spoken about having considered a sting operation against Jeffrey Epstein in 2015.

— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of ambushing

Verb

Concerns over bullying on campus, as well as a lack of security, have also been raised.

— Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026
Grande had been the subject of a wave of speculation, concern and bullying regarding her physical appearance following images of the actress-singer going viral in late July.

— James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of bullying

Verb

Hours later, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, announced the suspension of Acosta’s press pass, and, for good measure, falsely accused him of manhandling the aide who wanted the mike back.

— Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2026
Ashley Delaney of Polk City, who has served on the district's board since 2024, was charged in May with misdemeanor assault for allegedly manhandling the student.

— William Morris, Des Moines Register, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of manhandling

Verb

Ever since these rideshare companies began in the early 2010s, they have been scrutinized for underpaying and mistreating drivers.

— Cyrus Farivar, ArsTechnica, 2 Oct. 2026
Even more consequentially, some jihadi groups turned Muslim publics against them by mistreating Muslim civilians.

— Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of mistreating

Verb

At the time, Guilfoyle was an assistant DA in San Francisco prosecuting a high-profile dog-mauling case and making the rounds on cable news.

— Joe Hagan, Vanity Fair, 30 Sep. 2026
While the left guard competition remains open, Jones has been on the first string for over a week since replacing Connor Colby, and Jones stood out with an aggressive, mauling nature against the Titans.

— Cam Inman, Mercury News, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of mauling

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

maltreated

maltreating

maltreatment

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Maltreating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/maltreating. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of maltreating

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

deportment

Popular in Grammar & Usage

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Popular

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

Games & Quizzes