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

Four people represented by the ACLU of Tennessee filed a lawsuit in May accusing the task force of abusing the law to block them from documenting officers’ actions, sometimes ordering them to stay more than 100 feet away from arrest scenes. — Andy Rose, CNN Money, 10 July 2026

Two Miami-Dade church camp counselors were arrested Wednesday for allegedly abusing a 9-year-old boy by placing large orange cones over his head and repeatedly hitting him, according to the sheriff’s office. — Sofia Saric, Miami Herald, 9 July 2026

Witt claimed that Golubski — who in 2024 faced trial for allegations including terrorizing and abusing Black women in KCK for decades before killing himself the day it was scheduled to begin — also abused her late cousin, Elaine Greene. — Sofi Zeman july 2, Kansas City Star, 2 July 2026

The parents are also accused of abusing their 5-year-old daughter, who is also morbidly overweight, according to the complaint. — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 2 July 2026

Later that day, Collin alleged on his Instagram Stories that his mom wrote about physically abusing him in her diary. — Rebecca Aizin, PEOPLE, 2 July 2026

Google is cracking down on an Israeli residential proxy provider for allegedly abusing connected TV devices to host internet traffic for hackers. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 2 July 2026

The post said that in some cases, the attackers were abusing a Signal feature that allows users to create links to invite others to group discussions. — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 29 June 2026

This week, he was convicted of abusing two girls over a period of more than 20 years. — The Week Uk, TheWeek, 27 June 2026