maltreat

Word family

mal·treat /mælˈtriːt/ verb [transitiveT]

CRUELto treat a person or animal cruelly 虐待，残暴地对待〔人或动物〕 SYN mistreat

The hostages said they were hungry but had not been maltreated.

人质说他们挨了饿，但没有受到虐待。

—maltreatment noun [uncountableU]

evidence of animal maltreatment

虐待动物的证据

Examples from the Corpus

maltreat• Several of the prisoners had been maltreated.• We are accustomed, almost from birth, to hear of children being maltreated.• They were severely maltreated, and were only released after the intervention of the International Committee of the Red Cross.• Its boards were bowed and creaking; it had been maltreated in its own time.• A landowner could have his monument protected if he wished but he might prefer to maltreat it or destroy it completely.• It was all very well for the government in Moscow to lay down severe penalties for its servants who maltreated the natives.

Chinese

Syllable

Corpus

IELTS BNC: 37045 COCA: 36572

maltreat