Put to bad use (6)
I believe the answer is:
abused
'put to bad use' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'put to bad use' is the wordplay.
'put' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'to' becomes 'use' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'use' indicates anagramming the letters (I've seen 'used' mean this).
'bad' is an anagram of 'abd'.
'use' inserted within 'abd' is 'ABUSED'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for abused that I've seen before include "Reviled or exploited" , "Reviled, called nasty names" , "Ill-treated" , "Reviled, aimed verbal assault at" , "were cruel to partners!" .)