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
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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:
In fact, providers may face tort liability if negligent design causes harm through foreseeable misuse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
They alleged this spending constituted a misuse of funds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
Noem was summoned before Congress over those scandals and others, including her alleged misuse of government funds on television advertisements and private luxury jets.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
"Given the misuse of the tool, the Artex project will no longer be updated and will be converted to closed-source," the developer said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Is it from misuse, like the way Natasha’s father’s been using it lately?
From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon
Under current law, queries are reported annually to Congress so misuses of the program are identified.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
"It misuses the gravity and impact of terrorism to expand it beyond those clear boundaries, to encompass further conduct that is already criminal under the law," he added.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 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
I was a devoted reader of his criticism, but I didn’t always appreciate his screeds about the misuses of multiculturalism or his insistence that artists had more important things to do than combating “social evils.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2023
The correct use of the voice must transcend all considerations in vocal music, and no sort of practice which misuses the vocal organs can be excused for a moment.
From The Child-Voice in Singing treated from a physiological and a practical standpoint and especially adapted to schools and boy choirs by Francis E. Howard
In another case, the audit found that a high-ranking law enforcement officer misused confidential databases to look up family members and other employees without legitimate business purposes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 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
The world's largest LGBTQ+ dating app was sued in the High Court in 2024 over claims it misused people's personal information.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 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
Not a single morsel would be dropped to the ground or go wasted, for it was said that if the food were able, it would weep tears at being misused in any manner.
From "The Ugly One" by Leanne Statland Ellis
The arrests are the biggest enforcement of the law against misusing the currency.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
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
She is also locked in a separate legal spat over Levon’s estate, where she has accused her stepmother, Sandra “Sandy” Helm, of misusing funds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
The court also said the law might still apply to drugs that pose a “special risk” of misusing firearms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
Everything a lie, everything a way of misusing him.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
