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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/ .

Origin of sexual abuse

First recorded in 1875–80 in the sense “masturbation”
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.
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