“Coffee, the favorite drink of the civilized world.” – Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States
MISUSE
misuse, abuse
(noun) improper or excessive use; “alcohol abuse”; “the abuse of public funds”
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”
misapply, misuse
(verb) apply to a wrong thing or person; apply badly or incorrectly; “The words are misapplied in this context”; “You are misapplying the name of this religious group”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Noun
misuse (countable and uncountable, plural misuses)
An incorrect, improper or unlawful use of something.
Etymology 2
Verb
misuse (third-person singular simple present misuses, present participle misusing, simple past and past participle (obsolete) misust or misused)
(transitive) To use (something) incorrectly. [from 14th c.]
(transitive) To abuse or mistreat (something or someone). [from 14th c.]
(transitive) To rape (a woman); later more generally, to sexually abuse (someone). [from 14th c.]
(obsolete, transitive) To abuse verbally, to insult. [16th-17th c.]
Anagrams
• Iseums, Muises, mussie
Source: Wiktionary
Mis*use", v. t. Etym: [F. mésuser. See Mis-, prefix from French, and Use.]
1. To treat or use improperly; to use to a bad purpose; to misapply; as, to misuse one's talents. South. The sweet poison of misused wine. Milton.
2. To abuse; to treat ill. O, she misused me past the endurance of a block. Shak.
Syn.
– To maltreat; abuse; misemploy; misapply.
Mis*use", n.
1. Wrong use; misapplication; erroneous or improper use. Words little suspected for any such misuse. Locke.
2. Violence, or its effects. [Obs.] Shak.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
23 January 2025
LEFT
(adjective) being or located on or directed toward the side of the body to the west when facing north; “my left hand”; “left center field”; “the left bank of a river is bank on your left side when you are facing downstream”
Coffee Trivia
