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to do you wrong

to do you wrong

8 5.9
To treat someone unfairly or break their trust
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : hacerte daño
  • There's no blacker joke than the timely comeuppance of someone who's done you wrong.
  • I never do you wrong
  • have you ever done you wrong
  • I am going to do you wrong

We don't forget, so if you do us wrong, we don't forget it.

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Examples

  • You know, I used to think it was everybody else that was doing me wrong.

  • I’ve done you wrong, Let no forgiveness be shown.

  • If someone has done you wrong, well what are you going to do?

  • If someone has done you wrong, well, what are you going to do?

  • Just know that whatever we fell out about, not because I did you wrong, because you did me wrong.

  • Why would you wanna do me wrong?

  • But I would never do you wrong

  • Having compassion when someone has done you wrong means that you react with dignity, integrity, and understanding.

    Blog text (28)
  • But if you're in Cancun or Malaysia, the local doctors are probably not going to do you wrong.

    Blog text (4)
  • I would never do you wrong by betraying your trust.

Synonyms

to betray
vsto do you wrong
397 4.2

Let someone down when they need you

focuses on unfair treatment more generally rather than specific abandonment
to wrong
vsto do you wrong
53 5.2

Treat someone unfairly

also involves breaking trust or being undependable in crucial moments
to do someone like that
vsto do you wrong
  • Informal
1 8.4

Treat someone unfairly or hurt them, often when they trust you

is broader, covering unfair actions whether expected or not

Antonyms

1.0

Treating people equally and honestly

How Harmful

to devastate
221 4.9
to betray
143 4.6
to do you wrong
8 5.9
to hurt
1.0
to offend
524 2.8

Surface Forms

do you wrong infinitive
done you wrong past participle
doing you wrong present participle
does you wrong third person singular

Morphology

do + you + wrong

The meaning 'to treat someone unfairly' is directly derivable from combining 'do' (to cause or perform) with 'wrong' (to treat unjustly), with 'you' as the object; this is a straightforward compositional pattern similar to 'do harm' or 'do someone harm' in many languages. Because the sense maps transparently to the constituent meanings and follows common cross-linguistic patterns, a B1 learner who knows the words would likely infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The phrase do you wrong comes from a simple image: someone doing a wrong thing to you, like breaking a promise or hurting you. So it means 'to treat someone unfairly' or 'to betray their trust'.