Strong, formal-literary register - heavier than 虐待 (mistreat) and used in legal, news, or historical contexts. Often passive: 遭凌虐 (to suffer abuse) or 被凌虐.
mistakes
The reading is língnüè, not líng-lüè. The character 虐 takes the rare nüè sound (with ü), not the more familiar lüè.
