Abuse definition | Dictionary.com

a⋅buse

[v. uh-byooz; n. uh-byoos]

verb, a⋅bused, a⋅bus⋅ing, noun

–verb (used with object)

1.	to use wrongly or improperly; misuse: to abuse one's authority.

2.	to treat in a harmful, injurious, or offensive way: to abuse a horse; to abuse one's eyesight.

3.	to speak insultingly, harshly, and unjustly to or about; revile; malign.

4.	to commit sexual assault upon.

5.	Obsolete. to deceive or mislead.

–noun

6.	wrong or improper use; misuse: the abuse of privileges.

7.	harshly or coarsely insulting language: The officer heaped abuse on his men.

8.	bad or improper treatment; maltreatment: The child was subjected to cruel abuse.

9.	a corrupt or improper practice or custom: the abuses of a totalitarian regime.

10.	rape or sexual assault.

11.	Obsolete. deception.

—Idiom

12.	abuse oneself, to masturbate.

Origin:
1400–50; (v.) late ME abusen < MF abuser, v. deriv. of abus < L abūsus misuse, wasting, equiv. to abūt(ī) to use up, misuse (ab- ab- + ūtī to use ) + -tus suffix of v. action; (n.) late ME abus < MF abus or L abūsus

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Language Translation for : Abuse

Spanish:

abusar de,

German:

mißbrauchen,

Japanese:

乱用する

View 30 other languages »

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a·buse (ə-byōōz') Pronunciation Key
tr.v. a·bused, a·bus·ing, a·bus·es

To use wrongly or improperly; misuse: abuse alcohol; abuse a privilege.
To hurt or injure by maltreatment; ill-use.
To force sexual activity on; rape or molest.
To assail with contemptuous, coarse, or insulting words; revile.
Obsolete To deceive or trick.

n. (ə-byōōs')

Improper use or handling; misuse: abuse of authority; drug abuse.
Physical maltreatment: spousal abuse.
Sexual abuse.
An unjust or wrongful practice: a government that commits abuses against its citizens.
Insulting or coarse language: verbal abuse.

[Middle English abusen, from Old French abuser, from abus, improper use, from Latin abūsus, past participle of abūtī, to misuse : ab-, away; see ab-¹ + ūtī, to use.]
a·bus'er n.

Synonyms: These verbs mean to treat wrongfully or harmfully. Abuse applies to injurious or improper treatment: "We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us" (Aldo Leopold).
Misuse stresses incorrect or unknowledgeable handling: "How often misused words generate misleading thoughts" (Herbert Spencer).
Mistreat, ill-treat, and maltreat all share the sense of inflicting injury, often intentionally: "I had seen many more patients die from being mistreated for consumption than from consumption itself" (Earl of Lytton). The army had orders not to ill-treat the prisoners. "When we misuse [a language other than our native language], we are in fact trying to reduce its element of foreignness. We let ourselves maltreat it as though it naturally belonged to us" (Manchester Guardian Weekly).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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abuse (v.)

1413, from M.Fr. abuser, from V.L. *abusare, from L. abusus, pp. of abuti "use up," also "misuse," from ab- "away" + uti "use" (see use). Specifically of drugs, from 1968. The noun is first recorded 1439.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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abuse
noun
1.	cruel or inhumane treatment; "the child showed signs of physical abuse" [syn: maltreatment]
2.	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.	improper or excessive use; "alcohol abuse"; "the abuse of public funds" [syn: misuse]
verb
1.	treat badly; "This boss abuses his workers"; "She is always stepping on others to get ahead" [syn: mistreat]
2.	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" [syn: pervert]
3.	use foul or abusive language towards; "The actress abused the policeman who gave her a parking ticket"; "The angry mother shouted at the teacher"
4.	use wrongly or improperly or excessively; "Her husband often abuses alcohol"; "while she was pregnant, she abused drugs"

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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abuse a·buse (ə-by&oomacr;z')
v. a·bused, a·bus·ing, a·bus·es

To use wrongly or improperly; misuse.
To hurt or injure physically by maltreatment.
To assail with contemptuous, coarse, or insulting words; revile.

n. (ə-by&oomacr;s')

Improper use or handling, as of a drug; misuse.
Physical maltreatment, as of a spouse or child.
Insulting or coarse language.

a·bus'er n.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Main Entry: ¹abuse
Pronunciation: &-'byüs
Function: noun
1 : improper or excessive use or treatment abuse>—see SUBSTANCE ABUSE
2 : physical maltreatment: as a : the act of violatingsexually : RAPE b under some statutes : rape or indecent assault not amounting to rape

Main Entry: ²abuse
Pronunciation: &-'byüz
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: abused; abus·ing
1 : to put to a wrong or improper use <abuse drugs>
2 : to treat so as to injure or damage <abuse a child>
3 a : MASTURBATE b : to subject to abuse and especially to rape or indecent assault —abus·able /-'byü-z&-b&l/ adjective —abus·er noun

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Main Entry: ¹abuse
Pronunciation: &-'byüz
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: abused; abus·ing
1 : to put to a use other than the one intended: as a : to put to a bad or unfair use <abusing the powers of office> b : to put to improper or excessive use <abuse narcotics>
2 a : to inflict physical or emotional mistreatment or injury on (as one's child) purposely or through negligence or neglect and often on a regular basis b : to engage in sexual activity with (a child under an age specified by statute)
3 : to attack harshly with words <abuse a police officer> <abuse a debtor> —abus·er noun

Main Entry: ²abuse
Pronunciation: &-'byüs
Function: noun
1 : improper, unfair, or excessive use <abuse of authority> abuse>
2 a : the infliction of physical or emotional injury; also : the crime of inflicting such injury —see also BATTERED CHILD SYNDROME, BATTERED WOMAN'S SYNDROME —compare CRUELTY, NEGLECT b : SEXUAL ABUSE
3 : a verbal attack (as on a police officer in the performance of his or her duty); also : the crime of making such an attack

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Abuse

A*buse"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Abused; p. pr. & vb. n. Abusing.] [F. abuser; L. abusus, p. p. of abuti to abuse, misuse; ab + uti to use. See Use.]

1. 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.

This principle (if one may so abuse the word) shoots rapidly into popularity. --Froude.

2. 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. To revile; to reproach coarsely; to disparage.

The . . . tellers of news abused the general. --Macaulay.

4. To dishonor. "Shall flight abuse your name?" --Shak.

5. To violate; to ravish. --Spenser.

6. To deceive; to impose on. [Obs.]

Their eyes red and staring, cozened with a moist cloud, and abused by a double object. --Jer. Taylor.

Syn: To maltreat; injure; revile; reproach; vilify; vituperate; asperse; traduce; malign.

Abuse

A*buse"\, n. [F. abus, L. abusus, fr. abuti. See Abuse, v. t.]

1. 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.

Liberty may be endangered by the abuses of liberty, as well as by the abuses of power. --Madison.

2. Physical ill treatment; injury. "Rejoice . . . at the abuse of Falstaff." --Shak.

3. A corrupt practice or custom; offense; crime; fault; as, the abuses in the civil service.

Abuse after disappeared without a struggle.. --Macaulay.

4. Vituperative words; coarse, insulting speech; abusive language; virulent condemnation; reviling.

The two parties, after exchanging a good deal of abuse, came to blows. --Macaulay.

5. Violation; rape; as, abuse of a female child. [Obs.]

Or is it some abuse, and no such thing? --Shak.

Abuse of distress (Law), a wrongful using of an animal or chattel distrained, by the distrainer.

Syn: Invective; contumely; reproach; scurrility; insult; opprobrium.

Usage: Abuse, Invective. Abuse is generally prompted by anger, and vented in harsh and unseemly words. It is more personal and coarse than invective. Abuse generally takes place in private quarrels; invective in writing or public discussions. Invective may be conveyed in refined language and dictated by indignation against what is blameworthy. --C. J. Smith.

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