maltreats
Handles with cruelty
Maltreats is the third-person singular form of maltreat, meaning to treat someone or something badly or cruelly.
The word implies ongoing abuse or neglect rather than a single harmful act: The report found that the facility maltreats its elderly residents.
It's slightly more formal than "mistreats" and often appears in institutional or legal contexts.
Behaves cruelly toward
- harmsCauses injury or damage
- hurtsCauses physical distress
- injuresCauses physical harm
- brutalizesTreats with savage cruelty
batters · assaults · damages · wounds · torments · victimizes · traumatizes · neglects
People held in custody
- prisonersIncarcerated individuals
- inmatesIncarcerated individuals
- patientsThose receiving medical treatment
- residentsPeople living somewhere
wards · captives · interrogates · restrains · isolates · punishes · guards · wardens
Slang for shoes
- beatsPulses or defeats
- starvesDies from hunger
- chainsLinked metal restraints
- cagesBarred enclosures for confinement
overworks · whips · abandons · hoards · fights · breeds · puppy mill · cockfighting
Ceases to support
- starvesDies from hunger
- deprivesTakes something away
- ignoresRefuses to acknowledge
- withholdsRefuses to release
undernourishes · disregards · forsakes · malnourishes · denies · overlooks · uncared · unattended
mistreats
Behaves cruelly toward
brutalizes · batters · assaults · damages · wounds · torments · victimizes · traumatizes · neglects · exploits
detainees
People held in custody
- prisonersIncarcerated individuals
- inmatesIncarcerated individuals
- patientsThose receiving medical treatment
residents · wards · captives · interrogates · restrains · isolates · punishes · guards · wardens · orderlies
kicks
Slang for shoes
cages · overworks · whips · abandons · hoards · fights · breeds · puppy mill · cockfighting · dogfighting
abandons
Ceases to support
withholds · undernourishes · disregards · forsakes · malnourishes · denies · overlooks · uncared · unattended · untreated