What does "abuse" mean?
Improper treatment or usage; application to a wrong or bad purpose; an unjust, corrupt or wrongful practice or custom.
Abuse
/əˈbjuːs/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Improper treatment or usage; application to a wrong or bad purpose; an unjust, corrupt or wrongful practice or custom.
- Grammar: abuse is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: insult, misuse, abuse of office, abusing.
- Useful contrasts: biological care, online community norms, act civilly.
- Usage evidence: Words of abuse poured from his lips.
How to use "abuse"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "abuse" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "abuse" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "abuse" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "abuse" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "abuse" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "insult" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "abuse", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 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?"
Show 5 more definitions
- 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
Verb
- 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."
Show 7 more definitions
- 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
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
biological careonline community normsact civillyadequate use
Example
"Words of abuse poured from his lips."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "abuse"?
Common synonyms include: insult, misuse, abuse of office, abusing, abusive conduct, abusive use.
How do you use "abuse" in a sentence?
Words of abuse poured from his lips.
How do you pronounce "abuse"?
Pronounced /əˈbjuːs/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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.
Etymology 2
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”).