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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of misused
Cook said that while the department has outlined policies limiting how drones can be used, those rules do not guarantee that the technology will not be misused.
—
Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 23 Mar. 2026
Even those made from durable materials can break if misused.
—Bestreviews, Mercury News, 23 Mar. 2026
Monitoring your credit, limiting how widely your personal information appears online and responding quickly to alerts can reduce the damage if your information is misused.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 17 Mar. 2026
An internal government watchdog and members of Congress are separately investigating new allegations that a Department of Government Efficiency staffer potentially misused sensitive Social Security data.
—Shannon Bond, NPR, 11 Mar. 2026
Voter privacy advocates worry that shared election data could be misused to remove people from state voter rolls in violation of privacy laws.
—Josh Kelety, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, a lawsuit filed by former LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner is moving through the courts, alleging the district misused millions of dollars earmarked for arts and music instruction under Proposition 28.
—Teresa Liu, Daily News, 25 Feb. 2026
Claude Code Security builds on over a year of research by the company’s Frontier Red Team, an internal group of about 15 researchers tasked with stress-testing the company’s most advanced AI systems and probing how they might be misused in areas such as cybersecurity.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 20 Feb. 2026
Several initial reports speculated that his resignation stemmed from the ongoing federal probe into whether union officials misused licensed funds for personal enrichment.
—Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 17 Feb. 2026
Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 23 Mar. 2026
Even those made from durable materials can break if misused.
—Bestreviews, Mercury News, 23 Mar. 2026
Monitoring your credit, limiting how widely your personal information appears online and responding quickly to alerts can reduce the damage if your information is misused.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 17 Mar. 2026
An internal government watchdog and members of Congress are separately investigating new allegations that a Department of Government Efficiency staffer potentially misused sensitive Social Security data.
—Shannon Bond, NPR, 11 Mar. 2026
Voter privacy advocates worry that shared election data could be misused to remove people from state voter rolls in violation of privacy laws.
—Josh Kelety, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, a lawsuit filed by former LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner is moving through the courts, alleging the district misused millions of dollars earmarked for arts and music instruction under Proposition 28.
—Teresa Liu, Daily News, 25 Feb. 2026
Claude Code Security builds on over a year of research by the company’s Frontier Red Team, an internal group of about 15 researchers tasked with stress-testing the company’s most advanced AI systems and probing how they might be misused in areas such as cybersecurity.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 20 Feb. 2026
Several initial reports speculated that his resignation stemmed from the ongoing federal probe into whether union officials misused licensed funds for personal enrichment.
—Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 17 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misused
abused
Verb
-
Other kids in the household also had been physically abused, including a 10-year-old girl who withstood routine beatings with a belt over a 22-month period, Lake County authorities discovered.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Fares, now 33, was allegedly abused by Rutledge from 2007 to 2010 and Simon, now 37, was allegedly abused from 2001 to 2005.—
Corky Siemaszko,
NBC news,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misused.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misused. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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