Meaning & use
mistreat
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Meaning
verbtransitive
To treat a person or animal badly, unfairly, or with cruelty.
Grammar: Takes a direct object: mistreat someone or something. Often used in the passive: 'The animals were mistreated.'
Patterns
- mistreat someone/something
- be mistreated by someone
The workers claimed that the company mistreated them for years.
She was accused of mistreating her dogs.
Prisoners must not be mistreated under any circumstances.
Word forms
| third person singular | mistreats |
|---|---|
| past tense | mistreated |
| past participle | mistreated |
| -ing form | mistreating |
Common combinations
- mistreat animals
- It is illegal to mistreat animals in many countries.
- mistreat workers
- The factory was fined for mistreating workers.
- mistreat a child
- Social services intervened when they learned the child was being mistreated.
- badly mistreated
- The refugees had been badly mistreated during the war.
Synonyms and how they differ
- abuse
- Stronger and often suggests physical, sexual, or emotional harm; 'mistreat' is broader and less severe in tone.
- ill-treat
- Very similar but more formal and less common in everyday American English.
- harm
- Focuses on causing damage or injury, not necessarily on unfair or cruel treatment.
Opposites
Word family
- mistreatment noun
- The act of treating someone or something badly.
Commonly confused: mistreat or maltreat?
mistreat vs maltreat
Maltreat is a more formal, less common word with almost the same meaning; it often suggests physical violence.
Practice
The farmer was arrested for ___ his horses.
Choose one answer.
After the preposition 'for' we need a gerund, so 'mistreating' is correct. 'Mistreat' is the base form and cannot follow 'for'; 'mistreated' is past tense; 'mistreatment' is a noun and would need 'the' before it.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mistreat”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.