ill-used

verb

past tense of ill-use
as in abused
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ill-used
  1. abused
  2. bullied
Verb
  • Booth said Jake Haro physically abused the children after the investigation.
    — Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 31 July 2026
  • Several years after his arrest, four former students alleged in a civil complaint that Kester abused and groomed them at various times from 1998 to 2021.
    — Haley Parsley, Sacbee.com, 31 July 2026
Definition of abused
Verb
  • As Southampton’s Cyle Larin showed in April’s 5-1 thrashing, the defence is susceptible to being bullied physically at times.
    — Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Growing up in Martinsville, Virginia, Jesse experienced deep poverty and, Cindy said, was bullied because of it.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of bullied
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.

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ill-use
ill-used
ill-uses
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Cite this Entry

“Ill-used.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill-used. Accessed 9 Aug. 2026.

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