misuse
Americannoun
-
misuses
plural
-
wrong or improper use; misapplication.
- Synonyms:
- misappropriation, misemployment
-
Obsolete. bad or abusive treatment.
verb (used with object)
-
misuses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
misused,
past participle, past
-
misusing
present participle
-
to use wrongly or improperly; misapply.
-
to treat badly or abusively; maltreat.
noun
-
erroneous, improper, or unorthodox use
misuse of words
-
cruel or inhumane treatment
verb
-
to use wrongly
-
to treat badly or harshly
-
to use (something, esp alcohol, drugs, etc) improperly
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
misusesimple
-
misusessimple
-
have misusedperfect
-
has misusedperfect
-
am misusingprogressive
-
are misusingprogressive
-
is misusingprogressive
-
have been misusingperfect progressive
-
has been misusingperfect progressive
Past
-
misusedsimple
-
had misusedperfect
-
was misusingprogressive
-
were misusingprogressive
-
had been misusingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of misuse
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at mis- 1, use
Explanation
Misuse is using something incorrectly or in a harmful way. I warned you that repeated misuse of your cellphone would break it — I can't believe you were texting in the shower! You can use this word as a noun or a verb, with just a slight change in pronunciation. As a noun, misuse rhymes moose. But when you misuse the money your parents gave you for groceries, spending it all on candy and comic books, misuse rhymes with confuse. A less-common meaning of the verb is "treat someone badly."
Vocabulary lists containing misuse
mis-
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mis-
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: mis-
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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:
Without clinical supervision, many patients will misuse and then discontinue the bogus products and achieve no lasting benefit.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
The company published its latest threat intelligence report, external on Thursday, saying it did so because it believes it has "a responsibility to disclose malicious misuse of our services".
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
The incidents were found and disrupted between January and July, and they originated in China, Iran and west Africa, Anthropic said in a report about misuse of its models.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
“We’re publishing this work because we believe we have a responsibility to disclose malicious misuse of our services,” the San Francisco company said in its 154-page report.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
I ask whether Skeeter is referring to Dumbledore’s brother, Aberforth, whose conviction by the Wizengamot for misuse of magic caused a minor scandal fifteen years ago.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
Under current law, queries are reported annually to Congress so misuses of the program are identified.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
Yet one doesn’t need an AI bot to explain why Grammarly’s stunt has to rank among the sleaziest misuses of AI technology yet to appear.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026
Safeguards will be in place to ensure victims of sexual crime are not identified and anyone who misuses the footage could face contempt of court proceedings.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2025
Recently, she’s chronicled on X the expulsion of New York Republican George Santos, who was booted from the House following a searing ethics report detailing misuses of campaign funds.
From Salon ● Jan. 18, 2024
During sickness the skeletons in most people's mental closets walk forth, and anyone who misuses special opportunities to know intimate affairs can only be classed with eavesdroppers and village gossips.
From American Red Cross Text-Book on Home Hygiene and Care of the Sick by American Red Cross
"Blocking access to models in the UK would not prevent them being developed or misused elsewhere", a spokesperson told BBC News.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
If you were found to have acted recklessly with her money or investments, engaged in self-dealing, or otherwise misused estate or trust assets, you could face serious legal consequences.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
There is the possibility of the models’ being misused for cyber or biological attacks, Anthropic Chief Executive Dario Amodei said in a recent blog post.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
Studios worried about their intellectual property being misused, and actors feared becoming little more than raw material for AI systems -- and made it a central plank of their strike action in 2023.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
"Well," Venkat began, "it's in the rough stages, but JPL thinks the MDV can be misused to save him."
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
A Lufkin officer was indicted Aug. 24 on 100 counts of misusing official information, which Abbott cited as a concerning development during a Friday radio interview.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
And recent reporting by the Washington Post uncovered at least 50 instances nationwide in which law enforcement officials were accused of misusing their access to the cameras, largely to stalk former romantic partners or citizens.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
PARIS—An appeals court ruled that Marine Le Pen is eligible to run in next year’s presidential election, despite being found guilty of misusing European Parliament funds, reviving the far-right leader’s political fortunes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
In this age of fairness and reason, it’s hard to imagine a government official misusing power to keep secrets, but I’m told it happens.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
My mother said we were misusing the word; you could not call a Kleenex kira-kira.
From "Kira-Kira" by Cynthia Kadohata
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.
