abuse
Americanverb (used with object)
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abuses,
present (3rd person singular)
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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
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have been abusingperfect progressive
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has been abusingperfect progressive
Past
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abusedsimple
-
had abusedperfect
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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:
Evans said social media platforms should do more to crackdown on online abuse and urged the UK government to help.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
SINGAPORE—Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Najib Razak can serve the remaining two years of his sentence for abuse of power in the looting of the 1MDB sovereign-wealth fund under house arrest, the government said Friday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Petitioners are asked to document their abuse in detail, including dates and locations where incidents occurred.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
“I can’t deal with this stress anymore. I’d rather take a massive pay cut, and have to deal with all manner of abuse and bodily fluid. Genuinely,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
“No,” I say, “but him wanting me to be a part of it isn’t abusive. Him asking for my help isn’t abusive. That’s not what abuse is.”
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Solicitor Gen. D. John Sauer described the new rules as “modest measures that will help prevent and restrain potential gross abuses of the mails to perpetrate a fraud on the Nation.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Based in The Hague, the ICC was created in 1998 to cement the role of international law in punishing the worst human rights abuses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
The Duke of Sussex has stepped down from the board of an African wildlife charity whose rangers had been found to have committed human rights abuses against indigenous people.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
There are still transparency laws that apply to Flock databases, which is how 404 Media and other media outlets have discovered abuses of the technology.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
To the nation’s horror, the evidence of outrageous abuses kept mounting.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
"This will ensure that the whole ecosystem changes, tackling the means by which children are most often abused or groomed in the online world," Nandy said.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
“Words cannot begin to express the profound sorrow I feel that a service we designed to bring people happiness and joy has been abused to cause harm.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
Yes, every system, in every field, gets abused.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
She digs into why it’s so appealing—and why it’s also become the most abused trope on BookTok.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
After all I abused it much in the night when it was necessary to free and untie the various lines.
From "The Old Man and The Sea" by Ernest Hemingway
Prosecutors in Colombia have accused former foreign minister Laura Sarabia of abusing her power after she made her nanny take a lie detector test.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
I have read and replied to many cautionary tales about people abusing their responsibilities.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
That hasn’t kept him from abusing other trade powers delegated by Congress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
“Who wants to be accused of abusing children?” said Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
Many musicians thought that conductors were abusing their power and playing favorites.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
