misuse
Americannoun
-
wrong or improper use; misapplication.
- Synonyms:
- misappropriation, misemployment
-
Obsolete. bad or abusive treatment.
verb (used with object)
-
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:
Known popularly as the "corn" because of its resemblance to the summer barbecue staple, the towering former communist-era barracks' facelift is already under scrutiny for potential misuse of the central European country's public funds.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
The Commerce Department cited “the U.A.E.’s commitment to preventing the diversion and misuse of sensitive U.S. technology” in a statement on the change.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Although most incidents involved accidental dosing or therapeutic mistakes rather than intentional misuse, the sheer size of the increase surprised the research team.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
It has been involved in a protracted legal dispute with its former chief executive, Christopher Joell-Deshields, who was sacked following an investigation into alleged misuse of vouchers donated by a sponsor.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Furious over what he considered an undeserved personal attack on his integrity, Stith set off alarms about Operation Breakthrough’s misuse of federally funded cars.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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
It would be full as logical to employ the word "writer" for one who misuses his literary gift in writing dishonest advertisements.
From The Joyful Heart by Schauffler, Robert Haven
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
Opponents of the program say that prior administrations misused it by repeatedly renewing benefits that were supposed to be temporary.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
Phillips, who was Talley’s predecessor as Collins’ chief of staff, is currently under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over allegations that he hired his girlfriend for a no-show job and otherwise misused official funds.
From Slate ● May 28, 2026
Though both Polymarket and Kalshi ban insider trading, experts say it might not be considered illegal if the insider were to make a bet using information that was not considered stolen or misused.
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
Generally, this phrase of his was misused, even by those who were his supporters.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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
Many go through extensive training focused on not misusing client information for personal profit or leaving sensitive information in places where it could be overheard or picked up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, who has contributed to The New York Times, PBS, and Al Jazeera English, was arrested on March 3 for allegedly spreading false information, harming national security and misusing his mobile phone.
From Barron's ● Apr. 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.
