ill-treat
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
- ill-treatment noun
Etymology
Origin of ill-treat
First recorded in 1695–1705
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In these quotations, to vanquish foes and destroy enemies does not mean to ill-treat others in any way, or even to seek victory over them in a traditional sense.
From Washington Post • Mar. 11, 2019
Above stairs, all was confusion and alarm, and a number of the guests were seeking the villain who had dared to insult or ill-treat the young countess.
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 56, Number 350, December 1844 by Various
You would not ill-treat me because you are gentle, noble, and forgiving.
From Marion Fay by Trollope, Anthony
They made common cause in all quarrels and disputes, and to ill-treat one was to ill-treat both.
From Harper's Round Table, September 10, 1895 by Various
They ceased to ill-treat their prisoner, and even showed a disposition to talk.
From The Fire Trumpet A Romance of the Cape Frontier by Mitford, Bertram
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
