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sexual abuse
[ sek-shoo-uhluh-byoos ]
/ ˈsɛk ʃu əl əˈbyus /
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noun
nonconsensual touching of a person for one’s own sexual gratification or for the sexual gratification of someone else, especially when the nonconsenting party is a child: When children experience sexual abuse, it is rarely a stranger perpetrating the crime, but more commonly an authority figure or other adult they know.
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Also called sex a·buse [seksuh-byoos] /ˈsɛks əˈbyus/ .
See also sexual assault, molestation (def. 1).
Origin of sexual abuse
First recorded in 1875–80 in the sense “masturbation”
Words nearby sexual abuse
sextuplet, sextuplex, sextuplicate, sex-typed, sexual, sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual dimorphism, sexual generation, sexual harassment, sexual intercourse
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use sexual abuse in a sentence
Cultural definitions for sexual abuse
sexual abuse
Unwanted sexual activity forced on a person by another through coercion or threats.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.