Mistreatment vs. Maltreatment
Mistreatment and maltreatment are similar words, but they use a different prefix. Is there a difference in their meanings? Prefixes can change the meaning of a root word drastically. However, sometimes prefixes mean similar things and do not change the word very much.
Mistreatment is a noun referring to wrong treatment. The prefix "mis" means wrong.
1. The little girl complained to her father about his mistreatment of her pet rat, which he did not know she was keeping.
2. Some of the children in the class were upset by the mistreatment of the substitute teacher, so they told their friends to behave.
3. The mistreatment of the dogs by the man caused the animal shelter to come and get the dogs.
Maltreatment is a noun referring to bad treatment. The prefix "mal" means bad.
1. The doctor was accused of maltreatment when the patient remained sick even after visiting him.
2. Have you ever been guilty of maltreatment?
3. Maltreatment of children or animals makes most people especially angry, because these are creatures that cannot really defend themselves.
Even though these two words have different prefixes, the meaning of the prefixes is so similar that the words are synonyms. Synonyms are words that mean the same thing. So, you can use these words interchangeably, and you could substitute them for each other in the sentences above.
1. The little girl complained to her father about his maltreatment of her pet rat.
2. Mistreatment of children or animals makes most people especially angry.
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