treat with care

Meanings

1. 1phrasetransitive

   to handle or deal with someone or something gently and carefully

   Grammar: Takes an object after 'treat': treat the package with care.

   Patterns

   • treat something with care
   • treat someone with care
   • treat with care

   Please treat the antique vase with care.

   The nurse treated the patient with care and respect.

   You should treat these old documents with care.

2. 2phrasetransitive

   to deal with a situation or subject carefully to avoid problems

   Grammar: Often used in advice: treat the matter with care.

   Patterns

   • treat a situation with care
   • treat the matter with care
   • treat something with care

   The company treated the complaint with care to avoid bad publicity.

   He treated the delicate negotiations with care.

   We must treat this issue with care because feelings are involved.

Common combinations

treat with care and respect

Teachers should treat every student with care and respect.

handle with care

The box was marked 'handle with care'.

treat with great care

The museum treats these paintings with great care.

treat with care and attention

The garden needs to be treated with care and attention.

Synonyms and how they differ

handle gently

Handle gently is used mostly for physical objects, while treat with care can also apply to people and situations.

look after carefully

Look after carefully suggests ongoing responsibility, whereas treat with care focuses on how you handle something at a particular time.

Opposites

Word family

care noun

attention and protection given to someone or something

careful adjective

giving attention to avoid harm or mistakes

carefully adverb

in a careful way

Commonly confused: treat with care or care for?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “treat with care”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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