ABUSE

maltreatment, ill-treatment, ill-usage, abuse

(noun) cruel or inhumane treatment; “the child showed signs of physical abuse”

misuse, abuse

(noun) improper or excessive use; “alcohol abuse”; “the abuse of public funds”

abuse, insult, revilement, contumely, vilification

(noun) a rude expression intended to offend or hurt; “when a student made a stupid mistake he spared them no abuse”; “they yelled insults at the visiting team”

pervert, misuse, abuse

(verb) change the inherent purpose or function of something; “Don’t abuse the system”; “The director of the factory misused the funds intended for the health care of his workers”

abuse

(verb) use wrongly or improperly or excessively; “Her husband often abuses alcohol”; “while she was pregnant, she abused drugs”

abuse, clapperclaw, blackguard, shout

(verb) use foul or abusive language towards; “The actress abused the policeman who gave her a parking ticket”; “The angry mother shouted at the teacher”

mistreat, maltreat, abuse, ill-use, step, ill-treat

(verb) treat badly; “This boss abuses his workers”; “She is always stepping on others to get ahead”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology 1

Noun

abuse (countable and uncountable, plural abuses)

Improper treatment or usage; application to a wrong or bad purpose; an unjust, corrupt or wrongful practice or custom. [from around 1350 to 1470]

Synonym: misuse

Misuse; improper use; perversion. [from mid 16^th c.]

(obsolete) A delusion; an imposture; misrepresentation; deception. [from mid 16^th c. – mid 17^th c.]

Coarse, insulting speech; abusive language; language that unjustly or angrily vilifies. [from mid 16^th c.]

Synonyms: invective, contumely, reproach, scurrility, insult, opprobrium

(now, rare) Catachresis. [from late 16^th c.]

Synonym: abusio

Physical maltreatment; injury; cruel treatment. [from late 16^th c.]

Violation; defilement; rape; forcing of undesired sexual activity by one person on another, often on a repeated basis. [from late 16^th c.]

Usage notes

• (misuse, perversion): Typically followed by the word of.

Etymology 2

Verb

abuse (third-person singular simple present abuses, present participle abusing, simple past and past participle abused)

(transitive) To put to a wrong use; to misapply; to use improperly; to misuse; to use for a wrong purpose or end; to pervert [from around 1350 to 1470.]

(transitive) To injure; to maltreat; to hurt; to treat with cruelty, especially repeatedly. [from mid 16^th c.]

Synonyms: maltreat, injure

(transitive) To attack with coarse language; to insult; to revile; malign; to speak in an offensive manner to or about someone; to disparage. [from early 17^th c.]

Synonyms: revile, reproach, vilify, vituperate, Thesaurus:offend

(transitive) To imbibe a drug for a purpose other than it was intended; to intentionally take more of a drug than was prescribed for recreational reasons; to take illegal drugs habitually. [from mid 20^th c.]

(transitive, archaic) To violate; defile; to rape. [from around 1350 to 1470]

(transitive, obsolete) Misrepresent; adulterate. [from around 1350 to 1470 – mid 18^th c.]

(transitive, obsolete) To deceive; to trick; to impose on; misuse the confidence of. [from late 15^th c. – early 19^th c.]

(transitive, obsolete, Scotland) Disuse. [from late 15^th century – mid 16^th c.]

Anagrams

• aubes, beaus

Source: Wiktionary

A*buse", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Abused; p. pr. & vb. n. Abusing.] Etym: [F. abuser; L. abusus, p. p. of abuti to abuse, misuse; ab + uti to use. See Use.]

1. To put to a wrong use; to misapply; to misuse; to put to a bad use; to use for a wrong purpose or end; to pervert; as, to abuse inherited gold; to make an excessive use of; as, to abuse one's authority. This principle (if one may so abuse the word) shoots rapidly into popularity. Froude.

2. To use ill; to maltreat; to act injuriously to; to punish or to tax excessively; to hurt; as, to abuse prisoners, to abuse one's powers, one's patience.

3. To revile; to reproach coarsely; to disparage. The . . . tellers of news abused the general. Macaulay.

4. To dishonor. "Shall flight abuse your name" Shak.

5. To violate; to ravish. Spenser.

6. To deceive; to impose on. [Obs.] Their eyes red and staring, cozened with a moist cloud, and abused by a double object. Jer. Taylor.

Syn.

– To maltreat; injure; revile; reproach; vilify; vituperate; asperse; traduce; malign.

A*buse", n. Etym: [F. abus, L. abusus, fr. abuti. See Abuse, v. t.]

1. Improper treatment or use; application to a wrong or bad purpose; misuse; as, an abuse of our natural powers; an abuse of civil rights, or of privileges or advantages; an abuse of language. Liberty may be endangered by the abuses of liberty, as well as by the abuses of power. Madison.

2. Physical ill treatment; injury. "Rejoice . . . at the abuse of Falstaff." Shak.

3. A corrupt practice or custom; offense; crime; fault; as, the abuses in the civil service. Abuse after disappeared without a struggle.. Macaulay.

4. Vituperative words; coarse, insulting speech; abusive language; virulent condemnation; reviling. The two parties, after exchanging a good deal of abuse, came to blows. Macaulay.

5. Violation; rape; as, abuse of a female child. [Obs.] Or is it some abuse, and no such thing Shak. Abuse of distress (Law), a wrongful using of an animal or chattel distrained, by the distrainer.

Syn.

– Invective; contumely; reproach; scurrility; insult; opprobrium.

– Abuse, Invective. Abuse is generally prompted by anger, and vented in harsh and unseemly words. It is more personal and coarse than invective. Abuse generally takes place in private quarrels; invective in writing or public discussions. Invective may be conveyed in refined language and dictated by indignation against what is blameworthy. C. J. Smith.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

ABUSE

Etymology 1

Noun

Usage notes

Etymology 2

Verb

Anagrams

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