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
Otto Rabe, Cincinnati Enquirer, 24 Oct. 2025
Substance abuse was forbidden, though late in her tenure Daedone was alleged to have thrown some LSD into the mix.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC news, 30 Oct. 2025
In a complaint filed in 2023, Gannett and the other plaintiffs accused Google of violating federal antitrust laws by abusing its dominant position to control and profit from the technology used by publishers to buy and sell ads across the internet.
—USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for abuse
Noun
According to Bookman, his partner was struggling with substance abuse and was barely able to stay afloat, even with the success of his invention.
—Otto Rabe, Cincinnati Enquirer, 24 Oct. 2025
Substance abuse was forbidden, though late in her tenure Daedone was alleged to have thrown some LSD into the mix.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
All went on to abuse more children.
—Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC news, 30 Oct. 2025
In a complaint filed in 2023, Gannett and the other plaintiffs accused Google of violating federal antitrust laws by abusing its dominant position to control and profit from the technology used by publishers to buy and sell ads across the internet.
—USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for abuse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abuse
Noun
-
The Special Olympics has been fighting against the discriminatory use of the word since the term’s early days as an insult.—
Kate Reilly,
NBC news,
30 Oct. 2025
-
The race has been no short of dogged, as insults between the candidates on the debate stage have led to archives investigations and defamation lawsuit threats.—
Molly Parks,
The Washington Examiner,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The app's cameo feature lets kids upload their face and voice to create videos, which can lead to misuse.—
Wendy Wisner,
Parents,
30 Oct. 2025
-
What To Know The father, in the latest episode of Financial Audit with Caleb Hammer, admitted to the misuse of funds openly.—
Suzanne Blake,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In the lawsuit, Ring’s family alleged that the middle school knew that the teen was being bullied for being trans, and wasn’t providing a safe environment, per KREM.—
Mikelle Street,
Them.,
31 Oct. 2025
-
At the same time, Stella also got bullied for her seborrheic dermatitis, a different inflammatory skin condition that cropped up on her scalp and created visible patches of flaky skin.—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
In October alone, shoppers were attacked in a supermarket, a Spanish tourist was scratched by a cub at a heritage site, and a trail runner was forced to wrestle a bear in the woods before sprinting to safety.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles into Israel in response and attacked the Middle East's largest American military base in Qatar.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The Dodgers, with baseball's biggest payroll, have used their financial ability to pluck some of the most sought-after and most expensive free agents on the market.—
Steve Futterman,
NPR,
4 Nov. 2025
-
According to the new study, certain forms of iron oxyhydroxide nanominerals can catalyze the degradation of organophosphate esters (OPEs), chemical additives used in plastics as flame retardants and softeners.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The 21-year-old wildlife conservationist and son of famed zookeeper and television personality Steve Irwin further elaborated just why Russell's constructive criticism means so much.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
-
Chmerkovskiy then also remarked on the public's criticisms about his DWTS tenure.—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Maloyan served as Archbishop of Mardin from 1911 to 1915 and was tortured and killed after refusing to convert to Islam.—
Jenni Fink,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
-
In addition to Longo, Pope Leo elevated six other men and women to sainthood, including an Armenian archbishop tortured and killed after refusing to renounce Catholicism, a Venezuelan physician who dedicated his service to the poor and several nuns who spent decades helping the downtrodden.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Once the truck begins driving straight, the beige SUV speeds up and slams into the truck’s back-left side.—
Eric Levenson,
CNN Money,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Back in 1961, residents of Capitola woke up to find that hordes of black seabirds were slamming into cars, windows and people's homes and dying.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Abuse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abuse. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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