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
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