ILL-USE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does ill-use mean? 

• ILL-USE (verb)
  The verb ILL-USE has 1 sense:

1. treat badly

  Familiarity information: ILL-USE used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ILL-USE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they ill-use    ... he / she / it ill-uses   
Past simple: ill-used   
Past participle: ill-used   
-ing form: ill-using   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Treat badly

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

abuse; ill-treat; ill-use; maltreat; mistreat; step

Context example:

She is always stepping on others to get ahead

Hypernyms (to "ill-use" is one way to...):

do by; handle; treat (interact in a certain way)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "ill-use"):

kick around (treat badly; abuse)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

They want to ill-use the prisoners

Derivation:

ill-usage (cruel or inhumane treatment)

 Context examples 

I hope his letter does not breathe the spirit of an ill-used man.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

A mighty pleasure for the poor Baby to fix her simple faith upon any dog of a fellow, certain to ill-use her in some way or other.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

They had all been very ill-used since she last saw her sister.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

She felt that he had been very ill-used, and was quite unhappy in having to communicate what had passed.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

“You’ve been the most ill-used man in the world, Ned,” said he.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

If she were ill-used, then at any risks I was determined to go back to her assistance.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A rain of pecks fell on his ill-used nose.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

I said so—I said so warmly, for I felt that the Professor was an ill-used man.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I was confined to my room, terrorised by the most horrible threats, cruelly ill-used to break my spirit—see this stab on my shoulder and the bruises from end to end of my arms—and a gag was thrust into my mouth on the one occasion when I tried to call from the window.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“Who has ill-used him, you girl?” said Steerforth.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)