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
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Recent Examples of abusing
The pair also pretended that Tammy was allegedly abusing them.
—
Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 9 Nov. 2025
Archbishop Mitty product and San Jose native Aaron Gordon scored 18 while abusing Podziemski and other Warriors guards in the low post.
—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2025
In January, the Observer detailed in a special report how seven former employees accused the sheriff of abusing his power.
—Ryan Oehrli, Charlotte Observer, 7 Nov. 2025
Honestly, none of these women are immune to abusing filters and lighting, so a bit of this is just the pot calling the kettle black, which is what makes Angel’s intense reaction even harder to watch.
—Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 3 Nov. 2025
The administration has been accused of trying to start a new war and abusing military power by foreign and domestic leaders.
—Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 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
In 2021, Maxwell was convicted of multiple charges relating to her role assisting Jeffrey Epstein in abusing underage girls.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 29 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, USA Today, 28 Oct. 2025
Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 9 Nov. 2025
Archbishop Mitty product and San Jose native Aaron Gordon scored 18 while abusing Podziemski and other Warriors guards in the low post.
—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2025
In January, the Observer detailed in a special report how seven former employees accused the sheriff of abusing his power.
—Ryan Oehrli, Charlotte Observer, 7 Nov. 2025
Honestly, none of these women are immune to abusing filters and lighting, so a bit of this is just the pot calling the kettle black, which is what makes Angel’s intense reaction even harder to watch.
—Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 3 Nov. 2025
The administration has been accused of trying to start a new war and abusing military power by foreign and domestic leaders.
—Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 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
In 2021, Maxwell was convicted of multiple charges relating to her role assisting Jeffrey Epstein in abusing underage girls.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 29 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, USA Today, 28 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abusing
Verb
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The idea of bullying states and cities into following orders from the president is a key part of the text, says David Graham, a journalist for The Atlantic who also wrote a book on the project.—
Kat Lonsdorf,
NPR,
3 Nov. 2025
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The results are similar, with each former employee’s clique now bullying Robert in protest.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Obstructing, impeding, or attacking federal law enforcement is a federal crime.—
WCCO Staff,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
-
What now is the difference between the United States attacking Venezuela in order to install new leadership and Russia invading Ukraine to effect annexation and leadership change?—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Hong Kong — A Chinese coffee chain has apologized and changed its name after state media roasted it for misusing a word revered by the nation’s communist government.—
Chris Lau,
CNN Money,
9 Nov. 2025
-
Environmental groups questioned the legality surrounding the decision to overturn the Biden-era rule, accusing the Senate of misusing the Congressional Review Act to serve the GOP's agenda.—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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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
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Hundreds — some with and some without criminal records — have vanished without due process indefinitely into the prison systems of other countries infamous for torturing inmates.—
Mercury News & East Bay Times editorial,
Mercury News,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Dahbia Benkired was convicted of raping, torturing and killing Lola Daviet, according the BBC, BFMTV and The New York Times.—
Liam Quinn,
PEOPLE,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Instead of slamming it home, Antetokounmpo soared over the defenders to make an improbable catch, landed and flicked an on-target pass to Rollins for a corner 3 before falling out of bounds to give Milwaukee a 14-point lead.—
Eric Nehm,
New York Times,
8 Nov. 2025
-
His brief mention of the shutdown focused on slamming Democrats.—
Claire Heddles,
Miami Herald,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Privacy and partners Lenovo built Qira using a hybrid AI architecture.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Kansas City officials approved the initial funding for the temporary facility in October, using funds from the public safety sales tax.—
Ben Wheeler,
Kansas City Star,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In September, Nevada’s Bureau of Water Pollution Control fined the company nearly $250,000 for violating environmental regulations nearly 800 times in the last two years, including for spilling untreated groundwater onto public roads and not reporting it to authorities, ProPublica first reported.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
8 Nov. 2025
-
Council President Joe LaCava simply gave a hand-slap to Surf Cup for violating the deed restrictions, granting it the right to continue with commercial use.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Abusing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abusing. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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