Mistreated

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Having been treated unfairly or cruelly, often causing harm or distress
2. Experienced poor or abusive treatment that disregards well-being or rights
3. Being handled in a way that is unjust or harsh, resulting in suffering or disadvantage

Etymology: "Mistreated" is the past tense and past participle of "mistreat", a verb built from the prefix "mis-" and "treat". The prefix comes from Old English "mis-", which carried the sense of wrongly or amiss and descends from a Proto-Germanic root shared with words like "miss" in the sense of failing to hit or reach something. "Treat" arrived in English through Anglo-French and Old French from Latin "tractare", meaning to handle or drag about, so the verb's underlying idea is handling something badly. Put together, "mistreat" means to handle or deal with someone or something in the wrong way, and the past forms describe the result of that handling. The formation is a plain compound: an English prefix attached to an English verb, with no change in the core meaning of "treat" beyond the added sense of wrongness.

Synonyms: abused, ill-treated, maltreated, wronged, persecuted

Antonyms: cared for, nurtured, protected, treated well, cherished