unfair treatment

Meaning

1. 1noununcountable

   The way someone is dealt with when they are held to different or harsher standards than others without a good reason.

   Grammar: No plural and no 'a': she complained about unfair treatment.

   Patterns

   • unfair treatment of someone
   • unfair treatment at work
   • suffer unfair treatment

   Many employees complained about unfair treatment by their manager.

   The students protested the unfair treatment of their classmate.

   He says he was a victim of unfair treatment at the hospital.

Common combinations

suffer unfair treatment

Some workers suffer unfair treatment because of their age.

complain about unfair treatment

She complained about unfair treatment to the human resources team.

experience unfair treatment

Many newcomers experience unfair treatment in their first jobs.

claim of unfair treatment

The tribunal reviewed his claim of unfair treatment.

protest against unfair treatment

The staff protested against unfair treatment of part-time workers.

Synonyms and how they differ

discrimination

This is stronger and means unfair treatment based on a group such as race or gender, while unfair treatment can have any cause.

injustice

This is a broader moral term for any wrong, not only how a person is treated.

mistreatment

This suggests harsh or cruel handling, while unfair treatment may only mean being treated differently from others.

favoritism

This is the opposite side of the same thing: the unfair advantage given to someone, rather than the harm suffered by another.

Opposites

Word family

unfair adjective

not treating people equally or reasonably

unfairly adverb

in a way that is not fair

unfairness noun

the quality of not being fair

treat verb

to behave toward someone in a certain way

Commonly confused: unfair treatment or discrimination?

Practice

Make it your own

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

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