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
The Marshall Project, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 July 2025
His wife convinced him there would be no better home for this abused infant than theirs.
—Scott Craven, AZCentral.com, 10 July 2025
Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2025
What about pastors who abused children before becoming Christians?
—Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC news, 30 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for abused
Adjective
Neuroscientists have found that an abused child’s brain will not mature as easily.
—The Marshall Project, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 July 2025
His wife convinced him there would be no better home for this abused infant than theirs.
—Scott Craven, AZCentral.com, 10 July 2025
Verb
The eponymous squad consists of metahumans and supernatural beings who spent time in a military prison after being abused and vilified.
—Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2025
What about pastors who abused children before becoming Christians?
—Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC news, 30 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for abused
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abused
Verb
-
An unverified report circulated over the weekend that said Brown claimed Harbour bullied her on set.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Nov. 2025
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The complaint alleges Kalumbula didn't protect the student when other students bullied him for having gay parents.—
Kelli Arseneau,
jsonline.com,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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In one attack in mid-September, the militants attacked a convoy of more than 100 fuel trucks, setting fire to half of them, according to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), which maps conflicts.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
2 Nov. 2025
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Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, who has trailed Spanberger for most of the race, has attacked Spanberger over Democrats' positions on the government shutdown and focused on trans issues, which helped Republicans win the governor's mansion in 2021.—
Benjamin Siegel,
ABC News,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
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This embrace of democratized filmmaking essentially sets Miller apart from del Toro, who has voiced anxiety about AI being misused by the masses.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
5 Nov. 2025
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But now the justices will hear about how that tool may be misused.—
Ailsa Chang,
NPR,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Barcelona used a mix of zonal and man-marking but struggled when teams exploited their comparalative lack of height and physicality by using players in motion.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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Inter-agent trust — the tendency for an AI agent to trust other AI agents by default — can also be exploited to get around the guardrails built into popular systems.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Combined with the numbers injured, detained or tortured, at least one percent of the Strip’s population suffered first-hand from Israeli violence during the first occupation.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
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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
Verb
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Released on November 4, the 10-episode series was immediately slammed by critics, clocking a flat 0% on Rotten Tomatoes.—
Lisa Respers France,
CNN Money,
5 Nov. 2025
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Throughout the shutdown, Republicans have slammed the high cost of the subsidies, calling them a relic of the pandemic-era and no longer needed.—
Sam Gringlas,
NPR,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The real fiends were the ones who perverted science, who attacked this misunderstood giant out of fear, who branded him as something unholy and unworthy to exist, who gave him life but didn’t give him love.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
9 Sep. 2025
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Instead, the concept has been perverted to mean higher-ed grandees' exclusive right to determine who participates in scholarly life.—
Ilya Shapiro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Spoelstra used Niko Jovic essentially as the backup center.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
8 Nov. 2025
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Scott Ford, who was walking in Ault’s group, said that the new lighting system can be used yearround and programmed for seasonal and holiday displays.—
Graham Womack,
Sacbee.com,
8 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Abused.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abused. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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