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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in attacking
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 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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of abusing
The Labor Department inspector general's office has interviewed staff in connection with the investigation, which followed a complaint that Chavez-DeRemer was having an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate and abusing her office.
—
Arkansas Online, 24 Jan. 2026
Benny isn’t abusing his daughter.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 23 Jan. 2026
In 2021, a Brookhaven, Pennsylvania woman, Victoria Aronson, was charged with physically and verbally abusing children between the ages of 14 and 16 months at the Westtown location.
—Joe Brandt, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026
These are all examples of the executive branch abusing its prosecutorial discretion.
—Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 21 Jan. 2026
Having already been banned for biting Blackburn Rovers’ Owen Beck in October 2024 and racially abusing Hannibal Mejbri of Burnley last February, the latest incident will see Osmajic ruled out of at least 20 games in the last two seasons with Preston.
—Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2026
The local police department reportedly received numerous anonymous complaints of Teresa's relatives abusing the girls, and Larry allegedly wrote blogs detailing abuse, with some claiming to be written by Talia.
—Jessica Sager, PEOPLE, 20 Jan. 2026
The weight of responsibility is often shifted onto the shoulders of the youth, rather than those influencing policy, hoarding wealth, and abusing power.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 19 Jan. 2026
Their troubles surfaced when news broke that Odom was abusing crack cocaine, and his bizarre behavior was later exposed on the Kardashian family's television series.
—Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 18 Jan. 2026
Arkansas Online, 24 Jan. 2026
Benny isn’t abusing his daughter.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 23 Jan. 2026
In 2021, a Brookhaven, Pennsylvania woman, Victoria Aronson, was charged with physically and verbally abusing children between the ages of 14 and 16 months at the Westtown location.
—Joe Brandt, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026
These are all examples of the executive branch abusing its prosecutorial discretion.
—Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 21 Jan. 2026
Having already been banned for biting Blackburn Rovers’ Owen Beck in October 2024 and racially abusing Hannibal Mejbri of Burnley last February, the latest incident will see Osmajic ruled out of at least 20 games in the last two seasons with Preston.
—Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2026
The local police department reportedly received numerous anonymous complaints of Teresa's relatives abusing the girls, and Larry allegedly wrote blogs detailing abuse, with some claiming to be written by Talia.
—Jessica Sager, PEOPLE, 20 Jan. 2026
The weight of responsibility is often shifted onto the shoulders of the youth, rather than those influencing policy, hoarding wealth, and abusing power.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 19 Jan. 2026
Their troubles surfaced when news broke that Odom was abusing crack cocaine, and his bizarre behavior was later exposed on the Kardashian family's television series.
—Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 18 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abusing
Verb
-
What misconceptions do people still have about bullying?—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
24 Jan. 2026
-
After bullying their way through three CFP games behind 225-pound Mark Fletcher, the Hurricanes’ backs managed just 27 yards on 11 carries in the first half against Indiana.—
Ralph D. Russo,
New York Times,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The president also shared clips of the video on his Truth Social handle, along with posts mocking and attacking Pretti.—
Siladitya Ray,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Stay focused on the issue, rather than attacking the other person’s character.—
Molly Burrets,
CNBC,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
School leaders in the Woodland Hills School District strongly denied claims that the district is misusing funds.—
Ricky Sayer,
CBS News,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Collins’ former chief of staff and loyal aide, Brandon Phillips, is being investigated by the House Ethics Committee for allegedly misusing taxpayer funds.—
AJ Willingham,
AJC.com,
16 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Amidst the ongoing privacy issues surrounding door cameras and the backlash over social media giants exploiting user data to train their own models, today’s robots invite both passive and active observers into our homes and leave our data exposed to bad actors.—
Jason Corso,
Fortune,
6 Jan. 2026
-
For years, the debate around this issue has been quietly deadlocked between the forces for common sense reform to dramatically lower the cost of construction, and personal injury lawyers who reap increasingly large windfalls by exploiting this law.—
Elizabeth Crowley,
New York Daily News,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Yorgos Lanthimos, Florian Zeller and Juliette Binoche are among more than 800 film professionals who have signed a joint statement condemning the Iranian government for killing and torturing its own people.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
21 Jan. 2026
-
Dan Bujor, who lives out of a school bus parked in Long Island City, was arrested Sunday on charges including overdriving animals, torturing and injuring animals and failure to provide sustenance, in addition to driving without a license, in connection with the bizarre incident, cops said.—
Roni Jacobson,
New York Daily News,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Another clip of the exchange posted by Reedy ended with Hamilton hopping into a van with other officers and slamming his door shut.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Jan. 2026
-
McIntyre threw Fatu threw a table and then picked up Rhodes, slamming him into another table with a massive powerbomb.—
Blake Oestriecher,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Millions upon millions of people are using generative AI as their ongoing advisor on mental health considerations (note that ChatGPT alone has over 800 million weekly active users, a notable proportion of which dip into mental health aspects, see my analysis at the link here).—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
24 Jan. 2026
-
The Skippers kept fighting, using a 7-0 run to take a 57-55 lead with two minutes to go.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Private property owners may prohibit guns on their premises and direct anyone violating their rules to leave.—
Paul Kiefer,
jsonline.com,
28 Jan. 2026
-
After being notified of the action, Musk’s company almost immediately countersued the conservative influencer, accusing her of violating the platform’s terms of service, which state any disputes with X must be brought in Texas.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abusing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abusing. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
