What does Misuse mean?

Definitions for Misuse
mɪsˈyus; -ˈyuzmis·use

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word Misuse.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. misuse, abuseverb

    improper or excessive use

    "alcohol abuse"; "the abuse of public funds"

  2. misapply, misuseverb

    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"

  3. pervert, misuse, abuseverb

    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"

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Misusenoun

    Bad use; bad treatment.

    Etymology: from the verb.

    Upon whose dead corpse there was such misuse,
    Such beastly, shameless transformation,
    By those Welshwomen done, as may not be
    Without much shame retold. William Shakespeare, Henry IV.

    How much names taken for things mislead the understanding, the attentive reading of philosophical writers would discover, and that in words little suspected of any such misuse. John Locke.

    We have reason to humble ourselves before God by fasting and prayer, lest he should punish the misuse of our mercies, by stopping the course of them. Francis Atterbury, Sermons.

  2. To Misuseverb

    To treat or use improperly; to abuse.

    Etymology: mesuser, Fr. mis and use.

    You misuse the rev’rence of your place,
    As a false favourite doth his prince’s name
    In deeds dishon’rable. William Shakespeare, Henry IV.

    It hath been their custom shamefully to misuse the fervent zeal of men to religious arms, by converting the monies that have been levied for such wars to their own services. Walter Raleigh.

    Bacchus, that first from out the purple grape
    Crush’d the sweet poison of misused wine. John Milton.

    Niccolo Machiavelli makes it appear, that the weakness of Italy, which was once so strong, was caused by the corrupt practices of the papacy, in depraving and misusing religion. Robert South, Sermons.

Wikipedia

  1. misuse

    Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other types of aggression. To these descriptions, one can also add the Kantian notion of the wrongness of using another human being as means to an end rather than as ends in themselves. Some sources describe abuse as "socially constructed", which means there may be more or less recognition of the suffering of a victim at different times and societies.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Misuseverb

    to treat or use improperly; to use to a bad purpose; to misapply; as, to misuse one's talents

  2. Misuseverb

    to abuse; to treat ill

  3. Misusenoun

    wrong use; misapplication; erroneous or improper use

  4. Misusenoun

    violence, or its effects

Freebase

  1. Misuse

    Misuse is a five-piece instrumental group from Athens, Greece. Their music is mainly characterized as post-rock mixed with electronic music elements. Their tracks often follow a scenario-based structure, which has led some critics to describe their music as “cinematic rock”.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Misuse

    mis-ūs′, n. improper use: application to a bad purpose.—v.t. Misuse (mis-ūz′), to use for a wrong purpose or in a wrong way: to treat ill: to abuse.—n. Misus′age, ill-usage: abuse.

Matched Categories

How to pronounce Misuse?

How to say Misuse in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of Misuse in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of Misuse in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of Misuse in a Sentence

  1. Dale Baich:

    The purpose of the secrecy is to keep companies in the dark about the misuse of their products.

  2. Bayard Rustin:

    When I say I love Eastland, it sounds preposterous--a man who brutalizes people. But *you* love him or you wouldn't be here. You're going to Mississippi to create social change--and you love Eastland in your desire to create conditions which will redeem his children. Loving your enemy is manifest in putting your arms not around the man but around the social situation, to take power from those who misuse it--at which point they can become human too.

  3. German Justice Minister Heiko Maas:

    During these investigations it will become clear which circle of perpetrators is involved, making this an issue through over-simplifications, and connecting it to the issue of refugees is nothing more than misuse of the debate. Now it is about determining the facts and drawing the necessary conclusions.

  4. Pat Magee:

    We’re not saying there needs to be an absence of punishment. No, but the punishment needs to fit the behavior. That’s why you have a rubric, and when you misuse the rubrics by saying, ‘It’s any other serious offense.’ Then you know they don’t really have a cause of action to justify what they’re doing. They’re making it up as they go along.

  5. Muslim Americans:

    Our enemy are these criminal killers who misuse a religion in order to recruit people and give them the training to go out and kill more people.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

Misuse#10000#14038#100000

Translations for Misuse

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

Get even more translations for Misuse »

Translation

Find a translation for the Misuse definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"Misuse." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. Web. 28 Mar. 2023. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/Misuse>.

Discuss these Misuse definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for Misuse? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Browse Definitions.net

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    sound of something in rapid motion
    • A. sought
    • B. profound
    • C. obnoxious
    • D. whirring

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for Misuse: