# maltreatment vs mistreatment

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### maltreatment
*noun · IPA /malˈtɹiːtmənt/ · frequency rank #47,742*
Cruel or harmful treatment or abuse; mistreatment.

### mistreatment
*noun · frequency rank #29,745*
Cruel, abusive, unfair, or thoughtless treatment of a person or animal (or rarely an object).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/maltreatment-vs-mistreatment