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
Verb
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The Brookhaven Police Department has earned a Compassionate Police Department Award from PETA in recognition of officers' swift response and professionalism in rescuing a 3-month-old puppy who was allegedly abused live on Twitch.—
Zachary Bynum,
CBS News,
4 Feb. 2026 -
After the extent of David and Louise's crimes were revealed, several of the Turpin children — who ranged from 2 to 29 at the time of their rescue — were placed in foster care, where many of them were abused by their foster family.—
Stephanie Kaloi,
PEOPLE,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The young boy then has to navigate being 10 and being bullied, having crushes on girls, all while older siblings Yvette (Essence Atkins) and Marcus (Jason Weaver) cringe at the thought of him being at the same high school.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
4 Feb. 2026
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One student recounted the story of a citizen who was bullied because of her ethnicity and later died by suicide.—
Jasmine Arenas,
CBS News,
31 Jan. 2026
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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 Feb. 2026.
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