abuse
Americanverb (used with object)
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abuses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
abused,
past participle, past
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abusing
present participle
-
to use wrongly or improperly; misuse.
to abuse one's authority.
- Synonyms:
- misapply
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to treat in a harmful, injurious, or offensive way.
to abuse a horse; to abuse one's eyesight.
-
to speak insultingly, harshly, and unjustly to or about; revile; malign.
- Synonyms:
- scold, berate, vituperate, vilify, traduce, calumniate, defame, slander
- Antonyms:
- praise
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to commit sexual assault upon.
-
Obsolete. to deceive or mislead.
noun
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abuses
plural
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wrong or improper use; misuse.
the abuse of privileges.
- Synonyms:
- misapplication
-
harshly or coarsely insulting language.
The officer heaped abuse on his men.
- Antonyms:
- praise
-
bad or improper treatment; maltreatment.
The child was subjected to cruel abuse.
-
a corrupt or improper practice or custom.
the abuses of a totalitarian regime.
-
rape or sexual assault.
-
Obsolete. deception.
idioms
verb
-
to use incorrectly or improperly; misuse
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to maltreat, esp physically or sexually
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to speak insultingly or cruelly to; revile
-
(reflexive) to masturbate
noun
-
improper, incorrect, or excessive use; misuse
-
maltreatment of a person; injury
-
insulting, contemptuous, or coarse speech
-
an evil, unjust, or corrupt practice
-
See child abuse
-
archaic a deception
Usage
What does abuse mean? Warning: This article involves discussion of the sensitive topics of physical and emotional abuse and substance abuse. If you or someone you know needs support, please visit the National Domestic Violence Hotline site to chat or call the hotline at 1-800-799-7233. For support with substance abuse, call the National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357. The verb abuse most commonly means to mistreat and cause harm to a person or an animal. The noun abuse refers to such mistreatment. The victim of the abuse or the kind of abuse is often specified before the word, as in child abuse, spousal abuse, animal abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and sexual abuse. A person who abuses someone can be called an abuser, and such a person is said to be abusive. Abuse can also be used as a verb meaning to misuse something or as a noun meaning misuse—referring to the overuse or improper use of things. This sense of the word is especially seen in the phrases alcohol abuse, drug abuse, substance abuse, and abuse of power. As a verb, abuse is pronounced uh-BYOOZ. As a noun, it’s pronounced uh-BYOOS. This same pronunciation pattern is seen in the verb and noun forms of the word use (which rhyme with the verb and noun forms of abuse, respectively). Example: Just because it’s not physical doesn’t mean it’s not abuse—emotional abuse can leave its own scars.
Synonym Usage
Abuse, censure, invective all mean strongly expressed disapproval. Abuse implies an outburst of harsh and scathing words against another (often one who is defenseless): abuse directed against an opponent. Censure implies blame, adverse criticism, or hostile condemnation: severe censure of acts showing bad judgment. Invective applies to strong but formal denunciation in speech or print, often in the public interest: invective against graft.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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abusernoun
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overabusenoun
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abusableadjective
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antiabuseadjective
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unabusableadjective
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unabusedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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abusesimple
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abusessimple
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have abusedperfect
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has abusedperfect
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am abusingprogressive
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are abusingprogressive
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is abusingprogressive
-
have been abusingperfect progressive
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has been abusingperfect progressive
Past
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abusedsimple
-
had abusedperfect
-
was abusingprogressive
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were abusingprogressive
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had been abusingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of abuse
First recorded in 1400–50; (for the noun) late Middle English abus, from Middle French, from Latin abūsus “misuse, waste,” noun use of past participle of abūtī “to use up, misuse,” from ab- ab- + ūtī “to use, employ, enjoy”; see also use; verb derivative of the noun
Explanation
If you abuse someone, it means you are hurting that person, mentally, emotionally, or physically. If someone else is harming you, you are yourself suffering from abuse. The word abuse is made up of two parts — "use," which means to employ, and ab-, a Latin prefix meaning "away" — and as a whole comes from the Latin abūsus, meaning "misuse," or "use wrongly." It began as a verb and became a noun in the mid-15th century. Abuse also refers to anything that is employed improperly or to excess, such as the abuse of alcohol or drugs.
Vocabulary lists containing abuse
Common Five-letter Words for Wordle, List 4
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Macbeth's "Is this a dagger..." soliloquy
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Herbert Hoover on "Rugged Individualism" (1928)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The Daily Express leads with coverage of the early prisoner release scheme, saying domestic abuse campaigners "slam" the policy.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Ironically, Musk actually missed one of the biggest areas of waste, fraud and abuse in the entire system.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
Critics have accused the program of being riddled with fraud and abuse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
“This represents an important victory for the principle that women who speak out about sexual abuse should not be silenced by NDAs that contravene California law,” Barnett attorney Rosengart said in the notice.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
“Mr. Bennet, how can you abuse your own children in such a way? You take delight in vexing me. You have no compassion on my poor nerves.”
From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
Mass defections erode loyalty, expose human-rights abuses and signal internal instability.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
"This is no time to return anyone forcibly to a country plagued by egregious human rights violations and abuses," UN rights chief Volker Turk last week.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
Human rights groups say that President Dissanayake's government now has an opportunity to break from a long-standing pattern of delay and denial and deliver accountability for grave abuses committed during the conflict.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
Despite his ongoing asylum case, he now faces deportation to the country he fled and whose abuses he has spent years documenting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
To the nation’s horror, the evidence of outrageous abuses kept mounting.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
"David Rush abused his position and betrayed the public trust and should be held fully accountable for his actions," CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
The administration says it seeks assurances from those countries that the deported persons will not be not be abused or persecuted, but it refuses hearings for individuals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
Saylor made clear that he knew the game perfectly well as he asked these people, whose trust had been routinely abused, to trust him with their money.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
Unsurprisingly, they’ve been abused, and green groups in particular have turned them into a profit model.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
It was not like Malfoy to pass up the chance to demonstrate his power as prefect, which he had happily abused all the previous year.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Cristian Mungiu’s ‘Fjord’ follows a Romanian-Norwegian couple accused of abusing their children, placing clashing cultural values at the center of a courtroom drama.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
In 2016, Gutiérrez became Spotify’s top lawyer and was an architect and public face of its fight against Apple, which Spotify complained was abusing its control over the App Store.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
While more than 90% of over 2,000 respondents supported the ban, there were some concerns over the police and other authorised officers abusing the powers.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
I have read and replied to many cautionary tales about people abusing their responsibilities.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
I argued that police could improve public safety without abusing people.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
