| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| treat |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  tr t |
| VERB: | Inflected forms: treat·ed, treat·ing, treats
| | TRANSITIVE VERB: | 1. To act or behave in a specified manner toward. 2. To regard and handle in a certain way. Often used with as: treated the matter as a joke. 3. To deal with in writing or speech; discuss: a book that treats all aspects of health care. 4. To deal with or represent artistically in a specified manner or style: treats the subject poetically. 5a. To provide with food, entertainment, or gifts at one's own expense: treated her sister to the theater. b. To give (someone or oneself) something pleasurable: treated herself to a day in the country. 6. To subject to a process, action, or change, especially to a chemical or physical process or application. 7a. To give medical aid to (someone): treated many patients in the emergency room. b. To give medical aid to counteract (a disease or condition): treated malaria with quinine. | | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | 1. To deal with a subject or topic in writing or speech. Often used with of: The essay treats of courtly love. 2. To pay for another's entertainment, food, or drink. 3. To engage in negotiations, as to reach a settlement or agree on terms: “Both sides nonetheless are quite willing to treat with [the king]” (Gregory J. Wallance). | | NOUN: | 1. Something, such as one's food or entertainment, that is paid for by someone else. 2. A source of a special delight or pleasure: His trip abroad was a real treat. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English tretien, from Old French traitier, from Latin tract re, frequentative of trahere, to draw. | | OTHER FORMS: | treat er —NOUN
| | SYNONYMS: | treat, deal1, handle These verbs mean to act in a specified way with regard to someone or something: treats his guests with courtesy; dealt rationally with the problem; handling a case with discretion.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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