ILL-USAGE

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

Meaning:

Cruel or inhumane treatment

Example:

the child showed signs of physical abuse

Synonyms:

abuse; ill-treatment; ill-usage; maltreatment

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("ill-usage" is a kind of...):

mistreatment (the practice of treating (someone or something) badly)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ill-usage"):

child abuse (the physical or emotional or sexual mistreatment of children)

child neglect (failure of caretakers to provide adequate emotional and physical care for a child)

persecution (the act of persecuting (especially on the basis of race or religion))

cruelty; inhuman treatment (a cruel act; a deliberate infliction of pain and suffering)

Derivation:

ill-use (treat badly)