Definitions for abuse
əˈbyuz; əˈbyusabuse

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. maltreatment, ill-treatment, ill-usage, abusenoun

   cruel or inhumane treatment

   "the child showed signs of physical abuse"

2. 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"

3. misuse, abuseverb

   improper or excessive use

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

4. mistreat, maltreat, abuse, ill-use, step, ill-treatverb

   treat badly

   "This boss abuses his workers"; "She is always stepping on others to get ahead"

5. 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"

6. 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"

7. abuseverb

   use wrongly or improperly or excessively

   "Her husband often abuses alcohol"; "while she was pregnant, she abused drugs"

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Abusenoun

   Etymology: from the verb abuse.

   1. The ill use of any thing.

   The casting away things profitable for the sustenance of man’s life, is an unthankful abuse of the fruits of God’s good providence towards mankind. Richard Hooker, b. v. § 9.

   Little knows
   Any, but God alone, to value right
   The good before him, but perverts best things
   To worst abuse, or to their meanest use. Parad. Lost, b. iv.

   2. A corrupt practice, bad custom.

   The nature of things is such, that, if abuses be not remedied, they will certainly encrease. Jonathan Swift, for Advancem. of Relig.

   3. Seducement.

   Was it not enough for him to have deceived me, and through the deceit abused me, and, after the abuse, forsaken me, but that he must now, of all the company, and before all the company, lay want of beauty to my charge. Philip Sidney, b. ii.

   4. Unjust censure, rude reproach, contumely.

   I dark in light, expos’d
   To daily fraud, contempt, abuse, and wrong. Samps. Agon.

2. To ABUSEverb

   Etymology: abutor, Lat.

   1. To make an ill use of.

   They that use this world, as not abusing it; for the fashion of this world passeth away. 1 Cor. vii. 31.

   He has fixed and determined the time for our repentance, beyond which he will no longer await the perverseness of men, no longer suffer his compassion to be abused. John Rogers, Sermons.

   2. To deceive, to impose upon.

   The world hath been much abused by the opinion of making gold: the work itself I judge to be possible; but the means hitherto propounded, are, in the practice, full of error. Francis Bacon, Natural History, №. 126.

   He perhaps,
   Out of my weakness and my melancholy,
   As he is very potent with such spirits,
   Abuses me to damn me. William Shakespeare, Hamlet.

   It imports the misrepresentation of the qualities of things and actions, to the common apprehensions of men, abusing their minds with false notions; and so, by this artifice, making evil pass for good, and good for evil, in all the great concerns of life. Robert South, Sermons.

   Nor be with all these tempting words abus’d;
   These tempting words were all to Sappho us’d. Alexander Pope, Sappho to Phaon.

   3. To treat with rudeness, to reproach.

   I am no strumpet, but of life as honest
   As you that thus abuse me. William Shakespeare, Othello.

   But he mocked them, and laughed at them, and abused them shamefully, and spake proudly. 1 Mac. vii. 34.

   Some praise at morning what they blame at night,
   But always think the last opinion right.
   A muse by these is like a mistress us’d,
   This hour she’s idoliz’d, the next abus’d. Alexander Pope, Ess. on Crit.

   The next criticism upon the stars seems to be introduced for no other reason, but to mention Mr. Bickerstaff, whom the author every-where endeavours to imitate and abuse. Addison.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. 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

2. 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

3. Abuseverb

   to revile; to reproach coarsely; to disparage

4. Abuseverb

   to dishonor

5. Abuseverb

   to violate; to ravish

6. Abuseverb

   to deceive; to impose on

7. 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

8. Abuseverb

   physical ill treatment; injury

9. Abuseverb

   a corrupt practice or custom; offense; crime; fault; as, the abuses in the civil service

10. Abuseverb

    vituperative words; coarse, insulting speech; abusive language; virulent condemnation; reviling

11. Abuseverb

    violation; rape; as, abuse of a female child

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. 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(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. 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(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. 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

1. • Disrespect
   • Mistreatment
   • Treat
   • Use

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'abuse' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3044

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'abuse' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3063

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'abuse' in Nouns Frequency: #1191

4. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'abuse' in Verbs Frequency: #989

How to pronounce abuse?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say abuse in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of abuse in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of abuse in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of abuse in a Sentence

1. President Donald Trump:

   It is very sad about the Speaker of the House, qasem Soleimani killed 600 Americans and she is now questioning. She would rather stand with Hollywood, with Rose McGowan than to stand with our servicemen and women and make sure they're protected. That to me is an abuse of power.

2. Alexandra Minna Stern:

   This could be seen as a recent episode in a much longer trajectory of sterilization abuse and reproductive injustice.

3. Spokesman Nazifullah Salarzai:

   We hear about these things, and we do seek assessment from our independent human rights commission, and we are strongly committed to eliminating any abuse or mistreatment in case it exists.

4. Arunee Chamnanya:

   There has been an abuse of state power and usage of officials in the area.

5. Dawn Carroll:

   Having just been in Italy, I fell in love with the marble streets and sidewalks of Verona, millions of footsteps pound and torture that stone daily, but the abuse creates the exquisite finish.

Popularity rank by frequency of use