1
as in abused
to put to a bad or improper use
an actor who misused his considerable talent by appearing in too many lousy movies
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bullied
to inflict physical or emotional harm upon
sadly misused by the people he had trusted
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of misused
This term is sometimes misused to describe how easy a plant is to grow.
—
Chris McKeown, Cincinnati Enquirer, 31 Jan. 2026
The scale of the exposure has raised new concerns about how consumer data can be misused long after a breach occurs.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Marshall exposed that funds intended for inmate rehabilitation and reform were misappropriated or misused, leading to failures in implementing the Act and poor staff, inmate, and public outcomes.
—Walter Pavlo, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
Months after her move, Murillo was the subject of a whistleblower lawsuit by a KCPS teacher alleging that Murillo misused district funds from the East High School budget.
—Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 28 Jan. 2026
Money questions Another nonprofit is suing Hunger Busters, claiming Phillips misused grant money.
—Andrea Lucia, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026
The government denied that DOGE had misused private data held by Social Security.
—Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026
Sometimes these words are misunderstood or misused.
—Beth Ann Mayer, Parents, 21 Jan. 2026
However, the technology has been misused, even generating false identifications and wrongful arrests.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 12 Jan. 2026
Chris McKeown, Cincinnati Enquirer, 31 Jan. 2026
The scale of the exposure has raised new concerns about how consumer data can be misused long after a breach occurs.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Marshall exposed that funds intended for inmate rehabilitation and reform were misappropriated or misused, leading to failures in implementing the Act and poor staff, inmate, and public outcomes.
—Walter Pavlo, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
Months after her move, Murillo was the subject of a whistleblower lawsuit by a KCPS teacher alleging that Murillo misused district funds from the East High School budget.
—Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 28 Jan. 2026
Money questions Another nonprofit is suing Hunger Busters, claiming Phillips misused grant money.
—Andrea Lucia, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026
The government denied that DOGE had misused private data held by Social Security.
—Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026
Sometimes these words are misunderstood or misused.
—Beth Ann Mayer, Parents, 21 Jan. 2026
However, the technology has been misused, even generating false identifications and wrongful arrests.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 12 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misused
abused
Verb
-
The Brookhaven Police Department has earned a Compassionate Police Department Award from PETA in recognition of officers' swift response and professionalism in rescuing a 3-month-old puppy who was allegedly abused live on Twitch.—
Zachary Bynum,
CBS News,
4 Feb. 2026
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After the extent of David and Louise's crimes were revealed, several of the Turpin children — who ranged from 2 to 29 at the time of their rescue — were placed in foster care, where many of them were abused by their foster family.—
Stephanie Kaloi,
PEOPLE,
4 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misused.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misused. Accessed 8 Feb. 2026.
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