abusive

[uh-byoo-siv]

adjective

using, containing, or characterized by harshly or coarsely insulting language: an abusive author; abusive remarks.

treating badly or injuriously; mistreating, especially physically: his abusive handling of the horse.

wrongly used; corrupt: an abusive exercise of power.

Origin of abusive

From the Late Latin word abūsīvus, dating back to 1575–85. See abuse, -ive

Related formsa·bu·sive·ly, adverba·bu·sive·ness, nounnon·a·bu·sive, adjectivenon·a·bu·sive·ly, adverbnon·a·bu·sive·ness, nouno·ver·a·bu·sive, adjectiveo·ver·a·bu·sive·ly, adverbo·ver·a·bu·sive·ness, nounun·a·bu·sive, adjectiveun·a·bu·sive·ly, adverbun·a·bu·sive·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for abusively

Historical Examples of abusively

I was told that he is still talking angrily and abusively of us, and I was indignant.
War's Brighter Side
Julian Ralph.
We know men who have what may be styled, and what sometimes is abusively styled, a double life.
The Will to Doubt
Alfred H. Lloyd
He is neither piously inclined, nor hysterically fearful, nor abusively rebellious—he simply waits his fate.
My Experiences as an Executioner
James Berry
Even upon an Assembly numerically limited, this innovation would have told most abusively.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine -- Volume 55, No. 340, February, 1844
Various

British Dictionary definitions for abusively

abusive

adjective

characterized by insulting or coarse language

characterized by maltreatment

incorrectly used; corrupt

Derived Formsabusively, adverbabusiveness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for abusively

abusive

adj.

1530s (implied in abusively), originally "improper," from Middle French abusif, from Latin abusivus, from abus-, past participle stem of abuti (see abuse (v.)). Meaning "full of abuse" is from 1580s. Abuseful was used 17c., and Shakespeare has abusious ("Taming of the Shrew," 1594). Related: Abusiveness.