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Abuse
Definitions
- 1 Improper treatment or usage; application to a wrong or bad purpose; an unjust, corrupt or wrongful practice or custom. countable, uncountable
"human rights abuses"
- 2 cruel or inhumane treatment wordnet
- 3 Misuse; improper use; perversion. countable, uncountable
"Liberty may be endangered by the abuses of liberty, as well as by the abuses of power."
- 4 improper or excessive use wordnet
- 5 A delusion; an imposture; misrepresentation; deception. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"Or is it some abuse, and no such thing?"
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- 6 a rude expression intended to offend or hurt wordnet
- 7 Coarse, insulting speech; abusive language; language that unjustly or angrily vilifies. countable, uncountable
"children hurling abuse at each other"
- 8 Catachresis. archaic, countable, uncountable
- 9 Physical maltreatment; injury; cruel treatment. countable, uncountable
- 10 Violation; defilement; rape; forcing of undesired sexual activity by one person on another, often on a repeated basis. countable, uncountable
- 1 To put to a wrong use; to misapply; to use improperly; to use for a wrong purpose or end; to pervert transitive
"He abused his authority."
- 2 change the inherent purpose or function of something wordnet
- 3 To injure; to maltreat; to hurt; to treat with cruelty, especially repeatedly. transitive
"Blows with the fist should be given on the back of the woman, which she is sitting on the lap of the man, and she should give blows in return, abusing the man as if she were angry, and making the cooing and the weeping sounds."
- 4 use wrongly or improperly or excessively wordnet
- 5 To attack with coarse language; to insult; to revile; malign; to speak in an offensive manner to or about someone; to disparage. transitive
"The […] tellers of news abused the general."
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- 6 use foul or abusive language towards wordnet
- 7 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. transitive
- 8 treat badly wordnet
- 9 To violate; defile; to rape; (reflexive) to masturbate. archaic, transitive
"Like Angels life was then mens happy cace; But later ages pride, like corn-fed ſteed, Abuſd her plenty, and fat ſwolne encreace To all licentious luſt, and gan exceed"
- 10 Misrepresent; adulterate. obsolete, transitive
"Believe me, sir, he hath been abused, grossly abused to you."
- 11 To deceive; to trick; to impose on; misuse the confidence of. obsolete, transitive
"1651-2, Jeremy Taylor, "Sermon VI, The House of Feasting; or, The Epicures Measures", in The works of Jeremy Taylor, Volume 1, page 283 (1831), edited by Thomas Smart Hughes When Cyrus had espied Astyages and his fellows coming drunk from a banquet loaden with variety of follies and filthiness, their legs failing them, their eyes red and staring, cozened with a moist cloud and abused by a double object"
- 12 Disuse. Scotland, obsolete, transitive
Etymology
From Middle English abusen, then from either Old French abus (“improper use”), or from Latin abūsus (“misused, using up”), perfect active participle of abūtor (“make improper use of, consume, abuse”), from ab (“away”) + ūtor (“to use”). Equivalent to ab- + use.
From Middle English abusen, from Middle French abuser, from Latin abūsus (“misused, using up”), perfect active participle of abūtor (“to use up, misuse, consume”), from ab (“from, away from”) + ūtor (“to use”).
See also for "abuse"
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