English Dictionary

ILL-USE

Pronunciation (US): Play  (GB): Play

IPA (US): 

 Dictionary entry overview: What does ill-use mean? 

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

1. treat badlyplay

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


 Dictionary entry details 


ILL-USE (verb)

 Conjugation: 
Present simple: I / you / we / they ill-use  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation ... he / she / it ill-uses  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
Past simple: ill-used  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
Past participle: ill-used  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
-ing form: ill-using  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation


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)



 Learn English with... Proverbs 
"His bark is worse than his bite." (English proverb)

"The day without work, the night without sleep." (Albanian proverb)

"He who speaks about the future lies, even when he tells the truth." (Arabic proverb)

"He who changes, suffers." (Corsican proverb)



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