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mistreat
| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | treat badly or wrongly |
| Synonyms: | abuse, backbite, bash, brutalize, bung up, chop, do wrong, dump on, give black eye, handle roughly, harm, injure, kick around, knock around, maltreat, maul, mess up, misuse, molest, outrage, push around, rip, rough up, roughhouse, shake up, total*, trash*, wax, wound, wrong |
| Antonyms: | coddle, favor, pamper, pet, please, satisfy, treat well |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | abuse |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | physically hurt or injure |
| Synonyms: | bang up, beat up, bung up, corrupt, cut up, damage, defile, deprave, desecrate, harm, hose, ill-treat, impair, maltreat, mar, mess up*, mishandle, mistreat, misuse, molest, oppress, persecute, pollute, rough up, roughhouse, ruin, shake up, spoil, taint, total*, victimize, violate, wax |
| Notes: | abuse carries with it some sense of harm; misuse refers to an incorrect use that may not lead to harm to misuse is to use something wrongly, to abuse is to misuse something so badly that you damage it |
| Antonyms: | cherish, defend, help, preserve, protect, respect |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | corrupt |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | pervert; pollute |
| Synonyms: | abase, abuse, adulterate, animalize, bastardize, blemish, blight, bribe, contaminate, damage, debase, debauch, decay, decompose, deface, defile, deform, degrade, demean, demoralize, deprave, depreciate, despoil, disfigure, disgrace, dishonor, fix, grease palm, harm, hurt, ill-treat, impair, infect, injure, lower, lure, maltreat, mar, mistreat, misuse, outrage, pull down, putrefy, ravage, reduce, rot, ruin, spoil, square, stain, suborn, subvert, taint, undermine, violate, vitiate, warp, waste |
| Antonyms: | better, chasten, cleanse, dignify, improve, purify |
| Main Entry: | knock |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | push over; strike |
| Synonyms: | KO, abuse, bash, batter, beat, beat up, bob, bruise, buffet, clap, clout, cuff, damage, deck, drub, fell, flatten, floor, hit, hurt, level, maltreat, manhandle, maul, mistreat, pound, punch, rap, roughhouse, slap, smack, tap, thrash, thump, thwack, total, wallop, whack, wound |
| Main Entry: | mishandle/mismanage |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | mess up |
| Synonyms: | abuse, be incompetent, be inefficient, blow, blunder, botch, bungle, confound, err, flub, foul up, fumble, goof up, goof, gum up, harm, make a hash of, make a mess of, maladminister, misapply, misconduct, misdirect, misemploy, misgovern, mistreat, misuse, muff, overlook, pervert, prostitute, put foot in, screw up, shoot oneself in foot |
| Antonyms: | handle, manage |
| Main Entry: | misuse |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | abuse; apply wrongly |
| Synonyms: | blow*, brutalize, corrupt, cut up, desecrate, dissipate, exploit, go through, handle roughly, ill-treat, maltreat, maul, mess up*, misapply, misemploy, mistreat, molest, outrage, pervert, profane, prostitute, run through, shake up, squander, waste, wrong |
| Notes: | abuse carries with it some sense of harm; misuse refers to an incorrect use that may not lead to harm to misuse is to use something wrongly, to abuse is to misuse something so badly that you damage it |
| Antonyms: | use correctly |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | outrage |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | wrong, offend, abuse |
| Synonyms: | affront, aggrieve, boil over, burn up, defile, deflower, desecrate, do violence to, fire up, force, ill- treat, incense, infuriate, injure, insult, jar, kick up a row, madden, make hit the ceiling, maltreat, mistreat, misuse, oppress, persecute, raise Cain, rape, ravage, ravish, reach boiling point, scandalize, shock, spoil, violate, whip up |
| Antonyms: | delight, make happy, please |
| Main Entry: | pervert |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | twist, turn away from what is acceptable or correct |
| Synonyms: | abuse, adulterate, alloy, animalize, brainwash, color, corrupt, cut*, debase, debauch, demoralize, deprave, desecrate, distort, divert, doctor, doctor up, fake, falsify, fudge, garble, misconstrue, misinterpret, misrepresent, misstate, mistreat, misuse, outrage, phony up, prostitute, ruin, salt, seduce, spike, vitiate, warp, water* |
| Antonyms: | leave alone, straighten |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | rough up |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | handle harshly |
| Synonyms: | abuse, bash, batter, beat up, hit, knock about, knock around, maltreat, manhandle, mishandle, mistreat, roughen, roughhouse, slap around, thrash |
| Antonyms: | aid, help, protect |
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
