In 1511, leaders in Mecca believed coffee stimulated radical thinking and outlawed the drink. In 1524, the leaders overturned that order, and people could drink coffee again.
ABUSIVE
abusive
(adjective) characterized by physical or psychological maltreatment; “abusive punishment”; “argued...that foster homes are abusive”
abusive, opprobrious, scurrilous
(adjective) expressing offensive reproach
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Adjective
abusive (comparative more abusive, superlative most abusive)
Prone to treat someone badly by coarse, insulting words or other maltreatment; vituperative; reproachful; scurrilous. [First attested in the early 17th century.]
(obsolete) Tending to deceive; fraudulent. [Attested only from the early to mid 17th century.]
(archaic) Tending to misuse; practising or containing abuse. [First attested in the late 16th century.]
Being physically or emotionally injurious; characterized by repeated violence or other abuse.
Wrongly used; perverted; misapplied; unjust; illegal. [First attested in the mid 16th century.]
(archaic) Catachrestic. [First attested in the mid 16th century.]
Synonyms
• (prone to treating badly): reproachful, scurrilous, opprobrious, insolent, insulting, injurious, offensive, reviling, berating, vituperative
Source: Wiktionary
A*bu"sive, a. Etym: [Cf. F. abusif, fr. L. abusivus.]
1. Wrongly used; perverted; misapplied. I am . . . necessitated to use the word Parliament improperly, according to the abusive acceptation thereof. Fuller.
2. Given to misusing; also, full of abuses. [Archaic] "The abusive prerogatives of his see." Hallam.
3. Practicing abuse; prone to ill treat by coarse, insulting words or by other ill usage; as, an abusive author; an abusive fellow.
4. Containing abuse, or serving as the instrument of abuse; vituperative; reproachful; scurrilous. "An abusive lampoon." Johnson.
5. Tending to deceive; fraudulent; cheating. [Obs.] "An abusive treaty." Bacon.
Syn.
– Reproachful; scurrilous; opprobrious; insolent; insulting; injurious; offensive; reviling.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
19 June 2025
ROOTS
(noun) the condition of belonging to a particular place or group by virtue of social or ethnic or cultural lineage; “his roots in Texas go back a long way”; “he went back to Sweden to search for his roots”; “his music has African roots”
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