ill-use

[ verb il-yooz; noun il-yoos ]
See synonyms for ill-use on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),ill-used, ill-us·ing.
  1. to treat badly, unjustly, cruelly, etc.

noun
  1. Also ill-usage. bad, unjust, or cruel treatment.

Origin of ill-use

1
First recorded in 1835–45

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use ill-use in a sentence

  • “Ill-usage” expresses the date of the death of Columbus in 1506, as he died in great neglect.

    Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
  • The wives bore ill-usage with the most extraordinary equanimity, and never attempted to parry even the most savage blow.

  • Lady Byron's misery was whispered soon after her marriage and his ill usage, but no word transpired, no sign escaped, from her.

    Lady Byron Vindicated | Harriet Beecher Stowe
  • This would be the same motive as that which threatened death by fire or other ill-usage, in some of the instances mentioned above.

    The Science of Fairy Tales | Edwin Sidney Hartland
  • Do you make this disturbance on account of the ill usage you received from Mr. Kent?

British Dictionary definitions for ill-use

ill-use

verb(ˈɪlˈjuːz)
  1. to use badly or cruelly; abuse; maltreat

noun(ˈɪlˈjuːs) ill-usage
  1. harsh or cruel treatment; abuse

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012