as in insulting
marked by harsh insulting language
never one to believe that honorable people can disagree honorably, he invariably launches abusive attacks against anyone who dares to challenge him
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Recent Examples of abusive
My escape plan was romantic but nearly impossible—a single mother with no international connections trying to get an MBA abroad while hiding from an abusive ex-husband?
—
Tamar Gakharia, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
For many creatives, the fear of being ‘cancelled’ or blacklisted from the industry is often more powerful than their fear of remaining in an abusive environment.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 28 May 2026
Increasingly, the non-public-facing evidence presented in court depicts not an abusive relationship per se, but a tumultuous one with a lot of ups and downs, one that suggests, perhaps, that a 20-year-old and a 17-year-old ought not to have been living together.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 28 May 2026
Gould guessed that they had been called in by an ex who had been abusive.
—Larissa MacFarquhar, New Yorker, 28 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for abusive
Tamar Gakharia, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
For many creatives, the fear of being ‘cancelled’ or blacklisted from the industry is often more powerful than their fear of remaining in an abusive environment.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 28 May 2026
Increasingly, the non-public-facing evidence presented in court depicts not an abusive relationship per se, but a tumultuous one with a lot of ups and downs, one that suggests, perhaps, that a 20-year-old and a 17-year-old ought not to have been living together.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 28 May 2026
Gould guessed that they had been called in by an ex who had been abusive.
—Larissa MacFarquhar, New Yorker, 28 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for abusive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abusive
Adjective
-
The comments were not well received, with locals telling BBC Scotland News that the description was insulting and did not reflect the people in the area.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
24 May 2026
-
Instead, this just looks like virtue signaling to justify his controversial move to Baton Rouge, which is insulting to people actually affected by what the University of Mississippi represents.—
Bobby Burack OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
15 May 2026
Adjective
-
This is outrageous — and devastating.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
1 June 2026
-
Pratt’s outrageous on-screen antics placed him at the center of many feuds.—
Louis Staples,
The Atlantic,
1 June 2026
Adjective
-
That’s enough to send Tom over the edge, screaming at his boss about how his obscene hobby doesn’t give him any idea what war is really like.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
24 May 2026
-
Russian authorities continue to pay obscene sums for those willing to sign up.—
Daniel DePetris,
Mercury News,
23 May 2026
Adjective
-
The Irish comedy writer has become better known for his assertion that trans women are men and criticism of trans activism, expressed in often vituperative social media posts.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 May 2026
-
David smells an opportunity but completely misreads Hale, a vicious and vituperative man who delights in tormenting lesser writers.—
Stuart Miller,
Oc Register,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The core challenge of adapting systems of trust to the agentic economy is distinguishing legitimate from malicious automation without harming the user experience.—
Andrew Sever,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
-
The addition was a prompt injection, a form of AI attack that exploits an LLM’s inability to distinguish between legitimate user prompts and those from unauthorized, potentially malicious third parties.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
28 May 2026
Adjective
-
After all, how can someone who has hit 89 home runs across her college career — one short of the Bruins’ record — and helped one of softball’s most dynamic offensive teams check off a list of new NCAA and program records relate to the other sociology majors in her classes at UCLA?—
Liana Handler,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
-
Caleb Durbin has ranked among the worst offensive performers in MLB since joining the Red Sox, and with Trevor Story out and Marcelo Mayer now ensconced at shortstop, the Red Sox are rotating through a series of utility players who would otherwise be relegated to bench duty.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
31 May 2026
Adjective
-
Tom Hanks played McCoy, Melanie Griffith played his mistress, and Bruce Willis played a scurrilous journalist in the center of it all.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
2 Apr. 2026
-
And in return for all that scurrilous effort, not a single banning.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The rhetoric was vitriolic and often more about the man than the ideas or principles behind a particular political issue.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
26 May 2026
-
Online, the responses turned vitriolic.—
Robin Romm,
The Atlantic,
2 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abusive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abusive. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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