MALTREATMENT Synonyms: 27 Similar and Opposite Words

maltreatment

noun

as in mistreatment

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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.

Recent Examples of maltreatment The program is linked to a 32% drop in infant maltreatment reports, which represents a massive prevention of child welfare involvement. — Mona Hanna, The Conversation, 10 Sep. 2026 The maltreatment eventually led her to run away, later re-entering foster care. — Miami Herald, 24 July 2026 Three other employees were charged with permitting child abuse and failure to report child maltreatment. — Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica, 15 July 2026 According to Seary, there is also currently no funded pathway specifically designed for former athletes recovering from coach maltreatment nor duty of care beyond retirement, meaning survivors are left to self-fund their own recovery, from legal fees to therapy and healthcare. — Megan Feringa, New York Times, 3 June 2026 Severe child maltreatment is not reducible to a single cause, and serious child welfare policy cannot be reduced to a single response. — Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026 But during that time, the share of calls flagged as meeting the standard to investigate child maltreatment dropped from about one-third to one-quarter. — Meg Wingerter, Denver Post, 26 Apr. 2026 The pope also visited an orphanage for children taken off the streets after suffering abandonment or maltreatment from their parents. — ABC News, 10 Apr. 2026 In January 2025, DCF staff responded to a report of maltreatment of Torres-García’s sister. — Ginny Monk, Hartford Courant, 11 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for maltreatment

Noun

Nearly a decade after Fulton County seized his horses over allegations of animal mistreatment, a South Fulton horseman's fight to receive just compensation for his property has become a potentially precedent-setting constitutional case.

— Brian Unger, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
Commissioner Damian Pardo told WLRN the proposals come as a direct response to recent coverage of a malnourished dog found stuck on a Miami high rise balcony for several days, as well as other reports from residents of animal mistreatment.

— Joshua Ceballos, Miami Herald, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of mistreatment

Noun

Officers understood that a move against Maduro without clear guarantees of immunity meant risking imprisonment, torture, confiscation of assets, and the ill-treatment of their families.

— Bobby Ghosh, Time, 3 Jan. 2026
On the stand, Nash testified to Combs’ ill-treatment Fine during the years he was employed.

— DeMicia Inman, VIBE.com, 24 Sep. 2025

Definition of ill-treatment

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maltreating

maltreatment

maltreatments

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“Maltreatment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/maltreatment. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of maltreatment

noun

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