sexual abuse

American  

[sek-shoo-uhl uh-byoos] / ˈsɛk ʃu əl əˈbyus /

noun

1. nonconsensual touching of a person for one’s own sexual gratification or for the sexual gratification of someone else, especially when the nonconsenting party is a child.

   When children experience sexual abuse, it is rarely a stranger perpetrating the crime, but more commonly an authority figure or other adult they know.

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sexual abuse Cultural  

1. Unwanted sexual activity forced on a person by another through coercion or threats.

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Etymology

Origin of sexual abuse

First recorded in 1875–80 in the sense “masturbation”

Example Sentences

A serving officer with London's Metropolitan Police and four ex-officers are being investigated for their handling of sexual abuse allegations against former Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed, a watchdog said Thursday.

From Barron's • May 7, 2026

It was a post-#MeToo law, the Adult Survivors Act, that allowed the journalist and advice columnist E. Jean Carroll to bring her civil sexual abuse case against Trump.

From Salon • Apr. 19, 2026

In the hours and days after the late farmworkers rights leader César Chávez was accused of sexual abuse, his name and image were stripped from schools, streets and murals.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

Baroness Anne Longfield, a former children's commissioner, will chair the inquiry into child sexual abuse by grooming gangs, which Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has promised will be a "moment of reckoning".

From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026

Minors should be protected against all sexual abuse.

From The Sexual Question A Scientific, psychological, hygienic and sociological study by Forel, Auguste

Related Words

• exploitation
• impropriety
• intimidation
• victimization