What does abuse mean?
Definitions for abuse
əˈbyuz; əˈbyusabuse
Here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word abuse.
Princeton's WordNet
maltreatment, ill-treatment, ill-usage, abusenoun
cruel or inhumane treatment
"the child showed signs of physical abuse"
abuse, insult, revilement, contumely, vilificationnoun
a rude expression intended to offend or hurt
"when a student made a stupid mistake he spared them no abuse"; "they yelled insults at the visiting team"
misuse, abuseverb
improper or excessive use
"alcohol abuse"; "the abuse of public funds"
mistreat, maltreat, abuse, ill-use, step, ill-treatverb
treat badly
"This boss abuses his workers"; "She is always stepping on others to get ahead"
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"
abuse, clapperclaw, blackguard, shoutverb
use foul or abusive language towards
"The actress abused the policeman who gave her a parking ticket"; "The angry mother shouted at the teacher"
abuseverb
use wrongly or improperly or excessively
"Her husband often abuses alcohol"; "while she was pregnant, she abused drugs"
Webster Dictionary
Abuseverb
to put to a wrong use; to misapply; to misuse; to put to a bad use; to use for a wrong purpose or end; to pervert; as, to abuse inherited gold; to make an excessive use of; as, to abuse one's authority
Abuseverb
to use ill; to maltreat; to act injuriously to; to punish or to tax excessively; to hurt; as, to abuse prisoners, to abuse one's powers, one's patience
Abuseverb
to revile; to reproach coarsely; to disparage
Abuseverb
to dishonor
Abuseverb
to violate; to ravish
Abuseverb
to deceive; to impose on
Abuseverb
improper treatment or use; application to a wrong or bad purpose; misuse; as, an abuse of our natural powers; an abuse of civil rights, or of privileges or advantages; an abuse of language
Abuseverb
physical ill treatment; injury
Abuseverb
a corrupt practice or custom; offense; crime; fault; as, the abuses in the civil service
Abuseverb
vituperative words; coarse, insulting speech; abusive language; virulent condemnation; reviling
Abuseverb
violation; rape; as, abuse of a female child
Freebase
Abuse
Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of an entity, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, sexual assault, violation, rape, unjust practices; wrongful practice or custom; offense; crime, or otherwise verbal aggression.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Abuse
ab-ūz′, v.t. to use wrongly: to pervert: to revile: to violate.—ns. Abuse (ab-ūs′), ill use: misapplication: reproach: vituperation; Abū′sion (Spens.), abuse: deception: reproach.—adj. Abus′ive, containing or practising abuse: full of abuses: vituperative.—adv. Abus′ively.—n. Abus′iveness. [L. ab, away (from what is right), uti, usus, to use.]
Editors Contribution
Abuse
Abuse; abusive; when a human is harming an animal or fellow human for unspecified reasons.
Submitted by rinat on December 20, 2020
Matched Categories
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'abuse' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3044
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'abuse' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3063
Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'abuse' in Nouns Frequency: #1191
Verbs Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'abuse' in Verbs Frequency: #989
Anagrams for abuse »
Beaus
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of abuse in Chaldean Numerology is: 8
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of abuse in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3
Examples of abuse in a Sentence
Our communities must be protected from sick individuals who exploit and victimize children, and also from liberal activist judges who abuse their sentencing discretion to let offenders off the hook. Federal sentencing guidelines for these heinous crimes are critical, and I am proud to support this good bill to ensure guidelines are strictly enforced.
Use, do not abuse; neither abstinence nor excess ever renders man happy.
The actions of Judge Sinnott are unprecedented and outrageous, judge Sinnott insistence on arraigning individuals when my office has used its discretion to decline a case is an unconstitutional abuse of Judge Sinnott power and serves neither the interests of justice nor public safety.
We’ve made progress in the fight against illicit drug sales on our platforms, but we have more to do, we’re committed to making sure we do everything we can to prevent this kind of abuse.
If children are in a school ... their parents can actually go about their business rebuilding their lives, knowing their children are in a safe place and that their children will be less vulnerable to trafficking, abuse or exploitation.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
Translations for abuse
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- إساءةArabic
- оскърбление, злоупотребявам, изнасилвам, злоупотреба, обида, обиждам, оскърбявамBulgarian
- zneužitíCzech
- misbrug, mishandling, seksuelt misbrug, misbruge, krænke, vanrøgt, mishandleDanish
- Missbrauch, Mißbrauch, missbrauchen, Schmähung, Beleidigung, beleidigen, Mißhandlung, vergewaltigen, Beschimpfung, beschimpfen, MisshandlungGerman
- βρισιές, κακομεταχείριση, κατάχρησηGreek
- abuso, abuso sexualSpanish
- دشنامPersian
- solvata, väärinkäyttää, raiskata, käyttää hyväksi, väärinkäyttö, solvaus, herjaus, väärinkäytös, pahoinpitely, hyväksikäyttö, pahoinpidellä, herjataFinnish
- abus, viol, abuserFrench
- càineadh, trod, cronachadhScottish Gaelic
- abusoGalician
- השתלחות, התעלל, השתלח, ניצול לרעה, התעללות, תקיפה מינית, ניצל לרעהHebrew
- बुरा भला कहना, दुरूपयोग, अपशब्द, गाली देनाHindi
- abuso, abuso sessuale, violenza carnale, violentare, violenza, abusareItalian
- 侮辱, 濫用, ののしる, 性的虐待, 酷使, 虐待Japanese
- ನಿಂದನೆKannada
- 학대Korean
- abūsiō, probrum, obloquor, abūtorLatin
- abuséierenLuxembourgish, Letzeburgesch
- įžeidinėtiLithuanian
- lamātLatvian
- abbużMaltese
- misbrukNorwegian
- verkrachten, beschimpingen, beschimpen, uitschelden, misbruiken, onteren, mishandelen, misbruik, mishandelingDutch
- misbrukNorwegian Nynorsk
- misbruk, utskjelling, voldtekt, mishandle, mishandling, misbruke, skjelle ut, voldtaNorwegian
- atéʼélʼíNavajo, Navaho
- nadużycie, znęcanie się, molestowaniePolish
- ultrajar, afrontar, abusar, enganar, abuso, ofender, insultarPortuguese
- abuzRomanian
- злоупотребление, брань, злоупотреблять, злоупотребить, истязание, нападки, оскорблять, оскорбить, ругать, материть, изнасиловать, оскорбление, ругань, издевательство, издеваться, насилие, обижать, обидеть, обругать, обматерить, насиловатьRussian
- злоупотреба, злостављање, zlostavljanje, злоупотребити, zlostavljati, zloupotreba, zloupotrebiti, злостављатиSerbo-Croatian
- misshandel, missbruka, misshandla, missbrukSwedish
- abuso, panggagahasa, pagmamalupitTagalog
- migeb, nofön, lunofön, migebön, slanön, lenofönVolapük
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"abuse." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2022. Web. 20 May 2022. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/abuse>.
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