From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmaltreatmal‧treat /mælˈtriːt/ verb [transitive] CRUELto treat a person or animal cruelly SYN mistreat The hostages said they were hungry but had not been maltreated. —maltreatment noun [uncountable] evidence of animal maltreatment→ See Verb table
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. 