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put-upon

put-upon

7 7.2
Other people make someone do more than is fair
  • adjective
  • /ˈpʊtəˌpɒn/
translation icon : explotado
  • Every new teacher soon realizes the importance of principals, those often put-upon school leaders who play a key role in determining the direction and quality of education in their buildings.
  • feel put-upon
  • much put-upon
  • very put-upon

Examples

  • Never did I feel so put upon, so degraded.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • ... if non-native speakers are feeling put upon, that is something to listen to.

    Blog text (31)
  • However, at that particular time, he was feeling put upon by women.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Robinson makes it clear that he believes too much is being put upon teachers because of things they cannot control.

    Blog text (2)
  • The whole world wants to treat him like a wounded, put-upon child, then do it.

  • If you don't mind my saying, Mr. Torrance, you seem... put upon.

  • What chance do I, a poor put-upon taxpayer, have in the scheme of things?

    Blog text (30)
  • Their best friends are a lawyer representing abused children and a put-upon stay-at-home mom.

    Blog text (30)
  • After dealing with constant complaints from her colleagues, Sarah felt completely put-upon at work.

  • The children often felt put-upon by their parents' expectations and strict rules.

Synonyms

exploited
vsput-upon
2 5.1

Treated unfairly so someone else gains

is about unfair treatment more generally rather than only for gain
ill-used
vsput-upon
  • NSFW
1 8.1

Treated badly by other people

is about general unfair treatment without implying abuse or neglect
used
vsput-upon
  • Informal
1 7.2

A person whom others take advantage of and do not respect

is unfair treatment in general rather than only instrumental treatment
victimized
vsput-upon
  • US
6.4

Treated unfairly and made to suffer by other people

is unfair treatment which may not always cause direct suffering
mistreated
vsput-upon
4.1

Treated cruelly or unfairly by other people

is unfair treatment through being taken advantage of rather than cruelty

Antonyms

empowered
  • Formal
5 4.2

Having official power to make decisions

How Mistreated

abused
  • NSFW
4.2
exploited
2 5.1
put-upon
7 7.2
to slight
  • Offensive
12 6.1

Surface Forms

put-upon positive

Morphology

put-upon = put (opaque) = upon + put

The phrase 'put-upon' does not transparently derive its meaning from the individual words 'put' and 'upon'. [Postprocessing: moved 'upon' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

Put-upon comes from the phrase put upon, which means 'to put a burden on someone', like giving a person extra heavy boxes or extra tasks. So, a put-upon person feels used or taken advantage of.