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Psychological Abuse
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Abuse
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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
a·buse    Audio Help   [v. uh-byooz; n. uh-byoos] Pronunciation Key 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.
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]

a·bus·a·ble    Audio Help   [uh-byoo-zuh-buhl] Pronunciation Key, adjective
a·bus·er, noun

1. misapply. 2. ill-use, maltreat, injure, harm, hurt. 3. vilify, vituperate, berate, scold; slander, defame, calumniate, traduce. 6. misapplication. 7. slander, aspersion. Abuse, censure, invective all mean strongly expressed disapproval. Abuse implies an outburst of harsh and scathing words against another (often one who is defenseless): abuse directed against an opponent. Censure implies blame, adverse criticism, or hostile condemnation: severe censure of acts showing bad judgment. Invective applies to strong but formal denunciation in speech or print, often in the public interest: invective against graft.
3, 7. praise.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Signs of Abuse
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Psychological Abuse
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www.BridgesToRecovery.com
Abuse
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
abuse

To learn more about abuse visit Britannica.com

© 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Abuse Treatment
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
a·buse    Audio Help   (ə-byōōz')  Pronunciation Key 
tr.v.   a·bused, a·bus·ing, a·bus·es
  1. To use wrongly or improperly; misuse: abuse alcohol; abuse a privilege.
  2. To hurt or injure by maltreatment; ill-use.
  3. To force sexual activity on; rape or molest.
  4. To assail with contemptuous, coarse, or insulting words; revile.
  5. Obsolete To deceive or trick.

n.   (ə-byōōs')
  1. Improper use or handling; misuse: abuse of authority; drug abuse.
  2. Physical maltreatment: spousal abuse.
  3. Sexual abuse.
  4. An unjust or wrongful practice: a government that commits abuses against its citizens.
  5. 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).

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
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.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
abuse1 [əˈbjuːz] verb
to use wrongly, usually with harmful results
Example: She abused her privileges by taking too long a holiday.
Arabic: يُسِيء إسْتِعْمَال
Chinese (Simplified): 滥用
Chinese (Traditional): 濫用
Czech: zneužít
Danish: misbruge; mishandle
Dutch: misbruiken
Estonian: kuritarvitama
Finnish: käyttää väärin
French: abuser de
German: mißbrauchen
Greek: καταχρώμαι
Hungarian: visszaél (vmivel)
Icelandic: misnota
Indonesian: menyalahgunakan
Italian: abusare
Japanese: 乱用する
Korean: 악용하다
Latvian: ļaunprātīgi izmantot
Lithuanian: piktnaudžiauti
Norwegian: misbruke, mishandle
Polish: nadużyć
Portuguese (Brazil): abusar de
Portuguese (Portugal): abusar
Romanian: a abuza (de)
Russian: злоупотреблять
Slovak: zneužiť
Slovenian: zlorabiti
Spanish: abusar de
Swedish: missbruka
Turkish: kötüye kullanmak, suiistimal etmek
abuse2 [əˈbjuːz] verb
to insult or speak roughly to
Example: She abused the servants.
Arabic: يَشْتُم، يُهِين،يَذُم
Chinese (Simplified): 凌辱
Chinese (Traditional): 淩辱
Czech: urážet, nadávat
Danish: skælde ud
Dutch: beledigen
Estonian: solvama
Finnish: solvata
French: injurier
German: beschimpfen
Greek: εξυβρίζω, προσβάλλω
Hungarian: sérteget, rosszul bánik vkivel
Icelandic: svívirða
Italian: insultare
Japanese: ののしる
Korean: 욕하다
Latvian: apvainot; zākāt
Lithuanian: grubiai elgtis, užgaulioti
Norwegian: skjelle ut
Polish: obrażać, lżyć
Portuguese (Brazil): insultar
Portuguese (Portugal): insultar
Romanian: a înjura; a insulta
Russian: оскорблять
Slovak: nadávať, urážať
Slovenian: zmerjati, žaliti
Spanish: injuriar
Swedish: skymfa, skälla på
Turkish: hakaret etmek, kötü davranmak
abuse1 [əˈbjuːzəˈbjuːs] noun
insulting language
Example: He shouted abuse at her.
Arabic: شَتِيمَه، شَتْم
Chinese (Simplified): 辱骂
Chinese (Traditional): 辱罵
Czech: urážka, nadávka
Danish: skældsord
Dutch: beledigingen
Estonian: solvang
Finnish: solvaus
French: injure
German: die Beschimpfungen
Greek: εξύβριση, βρισιά, προσβολή
Hungarian: gorombáskodás
Icelandic: móðgun
Indonesian: menyakiti hati
Italian: insulto, ingiuria
Japanese: 悪口
Korean: 욕설
Latvian: apvainojums; lamas
Lithuanian: užgauliojimas
Norwegian: skjellsord
Polish: obelgi
Portuguese (Brazil): insulto, injúria
Portuguese (Portugal): insulto
Romanian: insultă, injurie
Russian: оскорбление
Slovak: nadávka, urážka
Slovenian: žaljivka
Spanish: improperio
Swedish: ovett, smädelser
Turkish: hakaret
abuse2 [əˈbjuːzəˈbjuːs] noun
the wrong use of something
Example: This toy has been subjected to a lot of abuse.
Arabic: إسَاءَة إسْتِعْمَال
Chinese (Simplified): 滥用
Chinese (Traditional): 濫用
Czech: špatné zacházení
Danish: misbrug; mishandling
Dutch: misbruik
Estonian: väärtarvitus
Finnish: väärinkäyttö
French: usage abusif
German: der Mißbrauch
Greek: κακομεταχείριση
Hungarian: helytelen használat
Icelandic: ill meðferð
Indonesian: perlakuan tak semestinya
Italian: cattivo uso*
Japanese: 乱用
Korean: 오용, 남용
Latvian: nepareiza lietošana, ekspluatēšana
Lithuanian: netinkamas elgesys
Norwegian: misbruk, mishandling
Polish: złe traktowanie
Portuguese (Brazil): maus-tratos
Portuguese (Portugal): maltrato
Romanian: utilizare greşită
Russian: плохое обращение
Slovak: poškodzovanie, zneužitie
Slovenian: zloraba
Spanish: maltrato
Swedish: missbruk
Turkish: kötü kullanım
See also: abusive

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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