as in to abuse
to inflict physical or emotional harm upon
some of the employees felt so ill-used by the new manager that they quit
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ill-use
Verb
-
Many of us were abused by them.—
Erin Mansfield,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025 -
The first is the publication of Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, released in October, which contained her allegations against Andrew and the wider story of her being abused by Epstein.—
Marni Rose McFall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
An unverified report circulated over the weekend that said Brown claimed Harbour bullied her on set.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Nov. 2025
-
The complaint alleges Kalumbula didn't protect the student when other students bullied him for having gay parents.—
Kelli Arseneau,
jsonline.com,
7 Nov. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Ill-use.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill-use. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share