noun / verb
abuse
uh-BYOOSS/əˈbjuːs/
Treatment or use that harms or violates proper limits.
The man abuses the woman by grabbing and twisting her wrist.
Etymology
The components formed a Latin verb meaning “use up” and also “misuse.” The noun's earlier sense of improper practice connects this misuse to harmful treatment.
In context
parents are violent toward each other or their children a review of child abuse incidents in new jersey in the 1980s found that parents or the children themselves had killed or injured a pet
More examples
- The audit uncovered several abuses of the expense policy.
- No employee should face verbal abuse from customers.
- Children deserve a home free from abuse.
Forms
abuse · abuses · abused · abusing
abuser noun — A person who treats another person cruelly.
abusive adjective — Cruel or harmful toward another person.
Similar words
- mistreatment
- Can describe less severe wrongdoing, including unfair or neglectful treatment.
- cruelty
- Emphasizes causing suffering or showing indifference to another person's pain.