Synonyms of abusing

abusing

verb

present participle of abuse

1

as in bullying

to inflict physical or emotional harm upon

if you abuse your pet, he will always have an ugly disposition

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bullying
• torturing
• violating
• mistreating
• misusing
• oppressing
• injuring
• brutalizing
• hurting
• persecuting
• manhandling
• maltreating
• harassing
• ill-treating
• mishandling
• taking apart
• molesting
• tormenting
• harming
• ill-using
• messing over
• outraging
• kicking around
• victimizing
• wronging
• working (over)
• sandbagging
• burning
• beating (up)
• roughing (up)
• messing (up)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• fostering
• nurturing
• caring (for)
• cherishing
• favoring
• indulging
• spoiling
• gratifying
• coddling
• humoring
• catering (to)
• pampering
• babying
• mollycoddling

2

as in attacking

to criticize harshly and usually publicly

a demanding, difficult patient who constantly abuses the nurses and aides

Synonyms & Similar Words

• attacking
• slamming
• scolding
• criticizing
• insulting
• blasting
• assailing
• savaging
• harassing
• cursing
• excoriating
• bashing
• trashing
• jumping (on)
• castigating
• scathing
• lambasting
• tying into
• vituperating
• berating
• sailing into
• belaboring
• reviling
• reprimanding
• blaspheming
• potshotting
• haranguing
• belittling
• disparaging
• slandering
• affronting
• harrying
• whipping
• beating up on
• execrating
• lighting into
• profaning
• vilifying
• libeling
• slurring
• chiding
• chastising
• imprecating
• rebuking
• traducing
• bad-mouthing
• fulminating
• aspersing
• blackguarding
• lacing (into)
• lashing (out)
• putting down

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• praising
• commending
• complimenting
• hailing
• lauding
• acclaiming

3

as in misusing

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

• misusing
• perverting
• misapplying
• prostituting
• profaning
• degrading
• corrupting
• twisting
• misemploying
• mismanaging
• desecrating
• debasing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• using
• applying
• employing
• utilizing
• respecting

4

as in exploiting

to take unfair advantage of

abused his parents' trust, pilfering small amounts from them that he hoped they wouldn't notice

Synonyms & Similar Words

• exploiting
• using
• manipulating
• leveraging
• milking
• playing (on or upon)
• imposing (on or upon)
• pimping
• cheating
• walking on
• capitalizing (on)
• trading on
• mistreating
• working
• cashing in (on)
• overcharging
• bleeding
• sticking
• fleecing
• soaking
• commercializing
• skinning
• jerking around
• commodifying

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of abusing

In addition to many successes, there is no record of his office abusing employees, leaking passwords, giving the public false information, or losing expensive reports. — Krista Kafer, Denver Post, 21 Aug. 2026

Roell was later accused of abusing nonverbal special-needs students at Crosby Elementary School, authorities said. — Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Aug. 2026

Conviser’s case, which was partially dismissed for lack of standing, accused legendary DePaul softball coach Eugene Lenti of verbally and mentally abusing his athletes and physically assaulting a staffer. — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 17 Aug. 2026

Before his recent arrest, Habib had a history of substantiated misconduct complaints about excessive force and abusing his authority. — ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026

Hostile SIMs can enter the wild through infected SIM software updates, rogue cellular operators abusing remote management platforms, or supply-chain tampering during manufacturing. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 10 Aug. 2026

Rather than heed any warning in her stepdaughter’s outburst, Rhaenyra doubles down on her penchant for using and abusing. — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026

Only one of them is still alive — Thomas Clower, the teacher who pleaded guilty to abusing Busch. — Ava Berger, NPR, 10 Aug. 2026

Now he has been accused, just so our viewers know, of emotionally and physically abusing his ex-wife and his two-year-old daughter. — NBC news, 9 Aug. 2026