the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
v. To treat ill; to abuse; to treat roughly.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
To treat ill; abuse; treat roughly, rudely, or with unkindness.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
v. treat badly
Word Usage
"Henry David Thoreau agonized over pummeling a chestnut with a stone to bring down its nuts: "It is not innocent, it is not just, so to maltreat the tree that feeds us," he wrote in his journal on Oct. 23, 1855."