put upon

See also: put-upon

English

Alternative forms

• put-upon

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “not self-evident to me”)

Adjective

put upon (comparative more put upon, superlative most put upon)

1. Imposed on, taken advantage of, used, taken for granted, or unappreciated.
   • 1876 May – 1877 July, Anthony Trollope, The American Senator […], volume III, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1877, →OCLC, page 209:

     A man shouldn't let hisself be put upon by circumstances so as to be only half hisself.

   • 1909, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 19, in Mike: A Public School Story:

     Here was he, about to receive his first eleven colours on this very day probably, being ordered about, inconvenienced—in short, put upon by a worm who had only just scraped into the third.

   • 1984 May 28, Bob Woodward, “John Belushi: ‘Saturday Night’ grind, drugs take their toll”, in Milwaukee Journal, retrieved 28 September 2010, page 6:

     He felt put upon if she asked him to do the slightest household chore or to conform to any schedule of meals and sleep.

   • 2002 November 24, Mark Heisler, “On the NBA: Lakers Are Still Drama Kings”, in Los Angeles Times, page D14:

     His toe hurt, he was heavy, he lacked his old explosiveness, he felt put upon by everyone.

Synonyms

• victimized

Translations

imposed on

• Dutch: misbruikt (nl)
• French: exploité (fr), utilisé (fr)
• Swedish: utnyttjad (sv)