abuse

English Online Dictionary. What means abuse‎? What does abuse mean?

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English abusen, then from either Old French abus (“improper use”), or from Latin abūsus (“misused, using up”), perfect active participle of abūtor (“make improper use of, consume, abuse”), from ab (“away”) + ūtor (“to use”). Equivalent to ab- +‎ use.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əˈbjuːs/
• (General American) enPR: əbyo͞os', IPA^(key): /əˈbjus/
• (Scotland, Northern Ireland) IPA^(key): /əˈbjʉs/
• Rhymes: -uːs
• Hyphenation: ab‧use

Noun

abuse (countable and uncountable, plural abuses)

1. Improper treatment or usage; application to a wrong or bad purpose; an unjust, corrupt or wrongful practice or custom. [from around 1350 to 1470]

   Synonym: abusage

   Coordinate terms: usage, misusage, misuse, use
2. Misuse; improper use; perversion. [from mid-16th c.]
3. (obsolete) A delusion; an imposture; misrepresentation; deception. [mid-16th–mid-17th c.]
4. Coarse, insulting speech; abusive language; language that unjustly or angrily vilifies. [from mid-16th c.]

   Synonyms: invective, contumely, reproach, scurrility, insult, opprobrium
5. (now rare) Catachresis. [from late 16th c.]

   Synonym: abusio

6. Physical maltreatment; injury; cruel treatment. [from late 16th c.]
7. Violation; defilement; rape; forcing of undesired sexual activity by one person on another, often on a repeated basis. [from late 16th c.]

Usage notes

• (misuse, perversion): Typically followed by the word of.

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English abusen, from Middle French abuser, from Latin abūsus (“misused, using up”), perfect active participle of abūtor (“to use up, misuse, consume”), from ab (“from, away from”) + ūtor (“to use”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əˈbjuːz/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /əˈbjuz/, enPR: əbyo͞oz'
• Rhymes: -uːz
• Hyphenation: abuse

Verb

abuse (third-person singular simple present abuses, present participle abusing, simple past and past participle abused)

1. (transitive) To put to a wrong use; to misapply; to use improperly; to use for a wrong purpose or end; to pervert [from around 1350 to 1470.]

   Coordinate terms: misuse, use
2. (transitive) To injure; to maltreat; to hurt; to treat with cruelty, especially repeatedly. [from mid-16th c.]

   Synonyms: maltreat, injure; see also Thesaurus:harm, Thesaurus:do evil
4. (transitive) To attack with coarse language; to insult; to revile; malign; to speak in an offensive manner to or about someone; to disparage. [from early 17th c.]

   Synonyms: revile, reproach, vilify, vituperate; see also Thesaurus:offend

   • 1991, Yakubu Yahaya, quoted in: 2001, Toyin Falola, Violence in Nigeria: The Crisis of Religious Politics and Secular Ideologies, p. 199:

     So we were angered by this and we could not tolerate this one because prophet Mohammed has been abused so many times in this country. Awolowo abused him sometimes ago saying that he was more successful and popular that^[sic] Mohammed and Jesus.
5. (transitive) To imbibe a drug for a purpose other than it was intended; to intentionally take more of a drug than was prescribed for recreational reasons; to take illegal drugs habitually. [from mid-20th c.]
6. (transitive, archaic) To violate; defile; to rape; (reflexive) to masturbate. [from around 1350 to 1470]
7. (transitive, obsolete) Misrepresent; adulterate. [from ca. 1350—1470 to mid-18th c.]
8. (transitive, obsolete) To deceive; to trick; to impose on; misuse the confidence of. [from late 15th–early 19th c.]

   Synonyms: com, hustle; see also Thesaurus:deceive

   • 1651-2, Jeremy Taylor, "Sermon VI, The House of Feasting; or, The Epicures Measures", in The works of Jeremy Taylor, Volume 1, page 283 (1831), edited by Thomas Smart Hughes

     When Cyrus had espied Astyages and his fellows coming drunk from a banquet loaden with variety of follies and filthiness, their legs failing them, their eyes red and staring, cozened with a moist cloud and abused by a double object

9. (transitive, obsolete, Scotland) Disuse. [from late 15th c.–mid 16th c.]

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

References

• Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “abuse”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 10.

Anagrams

• aubes, beaus

French

Pronunciation

Verb

abuse

1. inflection of abuser:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Anagrams

• aubes

Latin

Participle

abūse

1. vocative masculine singular of abūsus

Portuguese

Verb

abuse

1. inflection of abusar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aˈbuse/ [aˈβ̞u.se]
• Rhymes: -use
• Syllabification: a‧bu‧se

Verb

abuse

1. inflection of abusar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative