a·buse
(ə-byōōź)
[Middle English abusen, from Old French abuser, from abus, improper use, from Latin abūsus past participle of abūtī, to misuse, ab-, away; see ab–1, + ūtī, to use.]
transitive verb: a·bused, a·bus·ing, a·bus·es.
- To use wrongly or improperly; misuse: abuse alcohol; abuse a privilege.
- To hurt or injure by maltreatment; ill-use.
- To force sexual activity on; rape or molest.
- To assail with contemptuous, coarse, or insulting words; revile.
- Obsolete To deceive or trick.
noun
- Improper use or handling; misuse: abuse of authority; drug abuse.
- Physical maltreatment: spousal abuse.
- Sexual abuse.
- An unjust or wrongful practice: a government that commits abuses against its citizens.
- Insulting or coarse language: verbal abuse.
idioms
- abuse oneself
- To masturbate.
derivatives
- a·buśer
- noun
synonyms:
abuse, misuse, mistreat, ill-treat, maltreat These verbs mean to treat wrongfully or harmfully. Abuse applies to injurious or improper treatment: “We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us” (Aldo Leopold) Misuse stresses incorrect or unknowledgeable handling: “How often misused words generate misleading thoughts” (Herbert Spencer) Mistreat, ill-treat, and maltreat all share the sense of inflicting injury, often intentionally: “I had seen many more patients die from being mistreated for consumption than from consumption itself” (Earl of Lytton) The army had orders not to ill-treat the prisoners. “When we misuse we are in fact trying to reduce its element of foreignness. We let ourselves maltreat it as though it naturally belonged to us” (Manchester Guardian Weekly)
