1
as in insult
harsh insulting language
hometown fans hurled abuse at the visiting team
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in misuse
incorrect or improper use
naturally the furniture had received a lot of abuse from the 10 kids in the family
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to bully
to inflict physical or emotional harm upon
if you abuse your pet, he will always have an ugly disposition
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to attack
to criticize harshly and usually publicly
a demanding, difficult patient who constantly abuses the nurses and aides
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to misuse
to put to a bad or improper use
if you abuse your baseball bat by using it to hammer nails, don't expect it to last long
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to use
to take unfair advantage of
abused his parents' trust, pilfering small amounts from them that he hoped they wouldn't notice
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of abuse
Brandon Roberts, ProPublica, 6 June 2025
One candidate, Cuomo, was handed the keys to New York State, but resigned in disgrace in a blaze of corruption, mismanagement, and abuse.
—Brad Lander, New York Daily News, 6 June 2025
Matt Burgess, Wired News, 22 May 2025
Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for the Cuomo campaign, denied any wrongdoing and accused the Justice Department of abusing its power to interfere in an election.
—Nicholas Fandos, New York Times, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for abuse
Noun
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.
—Brandon Roberts, ProPublica, 6 June 2025
One candidate, Cuomo, was handed the keys to New York State, but resigned in disgrace in a blaze of corruption, mismanagement, and abuse.
—Brad Lander, New York Daily News, 6 June 2025
Verb
As with any exposed database, the concern is that sensitive data could be stolen and abused.
—Matt Burgess, Wired News, 22 May 2025
Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for the Cuomo campaign, denied any wrongdoing and accused the Justice Department of abusing its power to interfere in an election.
—Nicholas Fandos, New York Times, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for abuse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abuse
Noun
-
These immigrants in Florida find Trump’s offer ‘an insult’ Many are skeptical.—
South Florida Sun Sentinel,
Sun Sentinel,
2 June 2025
-
The master of appropriating insults just can’t do anything to make TACO his — Trump Always Cares Outstandingly just doesn’t have the same ring.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
30 May 2025
Noun
-
Business Taken together, the changes reflect a new emphasis at Meta in favor of more unrestrained speech and more rapidly updating its apps — a dismantling of various guardrails the company has enacted over the years to curb the misuse of its platforms.—
Shannon Bond,
NPR,
31 May 2025
-
Use large language models to analyze claims data and surface patterns in misuse, delays or preventable escalations.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2025
Verb
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After Daniel is bullied by his classmates, he is encouraged to take karate lessons to defend himself.—
Keith Langston,
People.com,
1 June 2025
-
For Essiedu’s Snape, his story eventually leads to the revelation that he was relentlessly bullied by James Potter back in the ‘70s, hung upside down with magic at one point, and pining after Lily, James’ eventual wife.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2025
Verb
-
Her dad drove to Boulder to attack the protest three days later, according to investigators.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
4 June 2025
-
The pathogen is known as Fusarium graminearum, which can attack wheat, barley, maize and rice and sicken livestock and people, the FBI said in a court filing in Detroit.—
Ed White,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2025
Verb
-
The initiative draws water from the L.A. River in downtown L.A., cleans it and uses it to irrigate Los Angeles State Historic Park.—
Lucy Handley,
CNBC,
1 June 2025
-
Administration officials initially weighed using Section 122 to impose higher tariffs but decided not to, due to the 150-day limit.—
Elisabeth Buchwald,
CNN Money,
31 May 2025
Noun
-
So far, Trumps criticism of Powell doesn’t appear to have had any bearing on monetary policy, despite temporarily shaking the markets in late April when it was believed Trump might try to fire Powell.—
Simon Moore,
Forbes.com,
2 June 2025
-
The top seeds cruised on the men’s side of the French Open and the scheduling of women’s tennis matches drew more criticism from a pair of American stars.—
Sam Settleman,
New York Times,
1 June 2025
Verb
-
The footage includes a scene in which a Hitler look-alike is tortured.—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
3 June 2025
-
In 2024, Chinese state media reported at least four separate cases of university students allegedly torturing cats.—
Rebecca Wright,
CNN Money,
30 May 2025
Verb
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At another meeting in May 2024, Grippo scolded female employees for not working hard enough, although the team was high-performing and employees worked long hours, the lawsuit said.—
Suhauna Hussain,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2025
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In January at the annual World Economic Forum, President Donald Trump scolded Brian Moynihan, the CEO of Bank of America.—
Ramishah Maruf,
CNN Money,
3 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Abuse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abuse. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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