as in maltreated
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1
as in bullied
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 attacked
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 misused
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in exploited
to take unfair advantage of
abused his parents' trust, pilfering small amounts from them that he hoped they wouldn't notice
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of abused
CNN Money, 29 Oct. 2025
Shelters aren’t just full of abused or difficult dogs.
—Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Sep. 2025
Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 23 Jan. 2026
Rather than protecting the environment, it is too frequently abused by opponents of housing and infrastructure projects to prevent development.
—Baruch Feigenbaum, Oc Register, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for abused
Adjective
His organization mobilizes to rescue large numbers of abused animals from horrific conditions and give them a new start in life.
—CNN Money, 29 Oct. 2025
Shelters aren’t just full of abused or difficult dogs.
—Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Sep. 2025
Verb
Jones abused the boys on their bus rides for about six months, between September 2023 and March 2024, before authorities discovered surveillance video that showed the woman elbowing, stomping and punching the students.
—Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 23 Jan. 2026
Rather than protecting the environment, it is too frequently abused by opponents of housing and infrastructure projects to prevent development.
—Baruch Feigenbaum, Oc Register, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for abused
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abused
Verb
-
One student recounted the story of a citizen who was bullied because of her ethnicity and later died by suicide.—
Jasmine Arenas,
CBS News,
31 Jan. 2026
-
They were bullied, pushed around, beat on the boards.—
Joseph Duarte,
Houston Chronicle,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
One study in 2020 surveyed 261 herders in Mongolia, another common habitat for snow leopards; while many reported having seen snow leopards, or had their livestock attacked by snow leopards, none reported any attacks on humans.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The upstream piranhas attacked her, and her blood flowing downstream attracted the rest of the piranhas, leaving the creek clear for the herd to cross.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Money questions Another nonprofit is suing Hunger Busters, claiming Phillips misused grant money.—
Andrea Lucia,
CBS News,
22 Jan. 2026
-
The government denied that DOGE had misused private data held by Social Security.—
Business Columnist,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited.—
Ezra Klein,
Mercury News,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Instead, it was siphoned off and exploited.—
Jennifer Nassour,
Boston Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The regime imprisoned Nejati and reportedly tortured him.—
Benjamin Weinthal,
FOXNews.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
And so even people who were heroes of the nation, they were beaten, tortured, taken for reeducation.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
At one point, Malinin slammed his fists on his thighs in frustration.—
Sally Jenkins,
The Atlantic,
1 Feb. 2026
-
After Disneyland Resort increased prices on hundreds of foods and drinks, fans slammed the changes on a Disney tourist blog.—
Jessica Mekles,
FOXNews.com,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Organized sports can easily be perverted.—
Louisa Thomas,
New Yorker,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Murry corrupted and perverted and destroyed Katherine both as a person and a writer […] Her gifts were those of an intense realist, with a superb sense of ironic humour and fundamental cynicism.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
UltraGreen holds an 85% market share in the US for its fluorescent dye used in surgical imaging, despite raising the average cost of its dye vials in the market by 60% and 30% in 2023 and 2024.—
Bernadette Toh,
Bloomberg,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Scared of death, many men have used it, carrying death upon their shoulders.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abused.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abused. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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