Misuse

//mɪsˈjuːs// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An incorrect, improper or unlawful use of something. countable, uncountable

    "The Queen may be celebrating her jubilee but the Queen's English Society, which has railed against the misuse and deterioration of the English language, is to fold."

  2. 2
    improper or excessive use wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To use (something) incorrectly. transitive
  2. 2
    change the inherent purpose or function of something wordnet
  3. 3
    To abuse or mistreat (something or someone). transitive
  4. 4
    apply to a wrong thing or person; apply badly or incorrectly wordnet
  5. 5
    To rape (a woman); later more generally, to sexually abuse (someone). transitive

    "“If that is true she would be the first case I have ever heard of, as most female captives are misused by the entire tribe.”"

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  1. 6
    To abuse verbally, to insult. obsolete, transitive

    "Socrates was brought upon the stage by Aristophanes, and misused to his face: but he laughed, as if it concerned him not […]."

Synonyms

All synonyms
abusemisapplypervertabuseabuseactive use

Example

More examples

"The word lends itself to misuse by beginners."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From mis- + use (noun).

Etymology 2

From mis- + use (verb).

More for "misuse"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.