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
-
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
-
abuses
plural
-
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
-
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 federal case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
SafeSport, a non-profit established to prevent the abuse of athletes and and address misconduct allegations, was dismissed as a defendant in two lawsuits filed by gymnasts that allege the organization did not properly investigate Gardner.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
"The club operates a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of discriminatory abuse," a club statement said after the game.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
France's e-Enfance association, which operates the national hotline for victims of online abuse, has also sounded the alarm about videos recorded with camera-equipped glasses and shared online.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 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
"This is no time to return anyone forcibly to a country plagued by egregious human rights violations and abuses," UN rights chief Volker Turk said Tuesday.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
Yes, there have been abuses around the country, just as there have been in any government or private workplace where confidential information might be misused.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
His supporters say he was targeted for blogging about alleged human rights abuses against the Sikh community in India and was coerced into signing a false confession to participation in the killings.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
It comes as MPs in the UK are seeking new laws on AI after a report found the technology was responsible for numerous abuses of human rights.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
Brenda Lewis was a former Montgomery police officer who joined us after seeing more abuses of power than she could tolerate at the police department.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
Artex was "abused by some bad actors" to launch cyberattacks, the tool's developer "Autumn-27" wrote Thursday on code-hosting platform GitHub.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 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
It’s a power that is easily mishandled and abused, but then there are authors such as Charles Dickens, who knew how to harness the full potency of description.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
If the panel believes there is evidence to suggest Idah was abused, it will make a complaint to Uefa and request a further investigation by European football's governing body.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 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
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
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
“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
"Stop abusing the dead for your own selfish ends," I said.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
