misuse
wrong or improper use; misapplication.
Obsolete. bad or abusive treatment.
to use wrongly or improperly; misapply.
to treat badly or abusively; maltreat.
Origin of misuse
1Other words for misuse
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use misuse in a sentence
In more than a decade with the newspaper, López had often written about corruption and misuse of public funds and had received threats in connection to his reporting.
These 10 journalists have been killed and deserve justice immediately | Brett Haensel | November 2, 2020 | FortuneIt provides other nations with the balm of calling out US hypocrisy in the misuse of its powers, hypocrisy which is often measured in the distance between American soft power rhetoric and hard power actions.
As The World Watches US Election, The Appeal Of America Is Diminished | LGBTQ-Editor | November 2, 2020 | No Straight NewsThe catastrophic risk associated with AI hinges more on misuse or poor development than on concerns about computers overtaking human society.
The details that have ended some recent political careers — such as involvement with a staffer or misuses of public funds — aren't part of this story.
It’s fair to say there are still many unanswered questions attached to the data misuse scandal.
Cambridge Analytica’s former boss gets 7-year ban on being a business director | Natasha Lomas | September 25, 2020 | TechCrunch
Its blasphemy law, which carries the death penalty, is frequently invoked and just as frequently misused.
Pakistan’s Dance With Terrorists Just Backfired and Killed 132 Children | Chris Allbritton | December 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOther female penguins would have their babies “misused before the very eyes of its parents.”
Lovable ‘Madagascar’ Penguins Are Known to Rape and Torture in Real Life | Asawin Suebsaeng | November 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOverall, there are some smart ideas in this film, but many of them feel misused.
'Rosewater' Review: Jon Stewart's Clumsy but Earnest Directorial Debut | Alex Suskind | September 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhat will the reaction be if cash released for “improved” nuclear behavior is misused?
But the data are constantly under revision and can often be misused and abused.
A good God would not permit that men charged with revealing His will should be misused.
Superstition In All Ages (1732) | Jean MeslierPrepositions are especially liable to be misused, and their correct use comes from a study of literature, not of the dictionary.
English: Composition and Literature | W. F. (William Franklin) WebsterThe way in which the regulation of the Conqueror here referred to has been misunderstood and misused is curious.
Landholding In England | Joseph FisherThe child singing-voice is not rough and harsh unless it is misused.
The Child-Voice in Singing | Francis E. HowardIf this be the case, some of these beings may probably have misused their liberty, and become depraved and corrupt.
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. II | Francis Augustus Cox
British Dictionary definitions for misuse
erroneous, improper, or unorthodox use: misuse of words
cruel or inhumane treatment
to use wrongly
to treat badly or harshly
to use (something, esp alcohol, drugs, etc) improperly
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
Browse