ill-treating

verb

present participle of ill-treat
as in abusing
to inflict physical or emotional harm upon anyone who ill-treats their pets should not be allowed to have any

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ill-treating
  1. abusing
  2. torturing
  3. mistreating
  4. bullying
Verb
  • Communities from Lansing, Michigan, to Pflugerville, Texas, are ending their relationship with Flock, largely over concerns regarding out-of-control surveillance, unwanted data sharing, high expenses, and reports of police abusing the tool.
    — Cyrus Farivar, ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Countless cops, meanwhile, are abusing the cameras to stalk women.
    — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of abusing
Verb
  • The shape-shifting eldritch entity of mysterious origins relishes torturing children.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2026
  • But, if not, then stop using the existence of those goals as a way of torturing yourself.
    — Eric Thomas, Sun Sentinel, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of torturing
Verb
  • Riddle says misdiagnosing and mistreating postpartum psychosis can have adverse effects on patients.
    — Louisa Moller, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Kanye West is facing another lawsuit accusing him of mistreating a fellow musician.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of mistreating
Verb
  • Trump has been bullying Canada since the start of his second term.
    — Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The source said the TCU staff was aware of mounting tensions, but viewed it as just a part of competitive football in fall camp, not bullying.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of bullying
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

ill-treated
ill-treating
ill-treatment
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ill-treating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill-treating. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of dissonant

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All