child abuse

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noun

mistreatment of a child by a parent or guardian, including neglect, beating, and sexual molestation.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of child abuse

First recorded in 1970–75

Words nearby child abuse

Chikamatsu, chi kung, chilblain, Chilcat, child, child abuse, child-abuse register, child-battering, childbearing, childbed, childbed fever

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use child abuse in a sentence

Sands was involved in a scandalous-for-the-time romance with the carpenter and there were rumors she was pregnant with his child.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
These were cops who had worked the protests and suffered the accompanying verbal taunts and abuse.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown|Michael Daly|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
You get these high-profile people that go into prison, and the staff abuse their authority.
How a ‘Real Housewife’ Survives Prison: ‘I Don’t See [Teresa Giudice] Having a Cakewalk Here’|Michael Howard|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In Sweden parents can use those days up until the child turns 12.
How Good Dads Can Change the World|Gary Barker, PhD, Michael Kaufman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST

When they get someone high profile, like the governor [Bob McDonnell] or like Teresa, they will abuse their positions.
How a ‘Real Housewife’ Survives Prison: ‘I Don’t See [Teresa Giudice] Having a Cakewalk Here’|Michael Howard|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
You would not think it too much to set the whole province in flames so that you could have your way with this wretched child.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
He shrank, as from some one who inflicted pain as a child, unwittingly, to see what the effect would be.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
This is one of the most striking manifestations of the better side of child-nature and deserves a chapter to itself.
Children's Ways|James Sully
The mother's lips could not finish the charge she was about to put upon her innocent child.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
In Luke it is said, “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom.”
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway

British Dictionary definitions for child abuse

child abuse

noun

physical, sexual, or emotional ill-treatment or neglect of a child, esp by those responsible for its welfareSee also nonaccidental injury

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