put-upon
Americanadjective
verb
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to presume on (a person's generosity, good nature, etc); take advantage of
he's always being put upon
-
to impose hardship on; maltreat
Etymology
Origin of put-upon
First recorded in 1915–20
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.
While Mescal’s no stranger to playing the put-upon father in his relatively brief yet prolific career, his brooding verges on laughable.
From Salon • Nov. 30, 2025
He’s as put-upon as the rest of us.
From Salon • May 24, 2025
And he calls Enrico Colantoni, who plays their put-upon principal with weary grace, “such a gift to the project. His acting is like a drug.”
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 22, 2024
His character Alejandro desperately needs someone to sponsor his work visa, and he thinks he may have found that person in Tilda Swinton’s Elizabeth, a caustic, put-upon art critic.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 5, 2024
Unable to work either the dishwater or Methuselah’s long memory into a proper ending for his parable, Our Father merely looked at us all and heaved the great sigh of the put-upon male.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
