1
as in abusing
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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bullying
to inflict physical or emotional harm upon
sadly misused by the people he had trusted
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of misusing
Talk with teens about the risks of misusing medications, including serious health effects and poisoning.
—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 12 June 2026
Some city leaders had also dinged the county for misusing homelessness money generated from a previous sales tax and argued this new pot of dollars would be handled no better.
—Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2026
Police arrested Brown that night and charged him with misusing 911.
—Charlotte Observer, 9 June 2026
Furthermore, a recent Financial Times investigation revealed that even when AI developers implement guardrails to prevent bad actors from misusing them, protections can be bypassed using openly available software tools in less than 10 minutes.
—Mohammad Hosseini, Chicago Tribune, 4 June 2026
Warren Fairley — who briefly took over as Boilermakers president in 2023 after Jones was ousted by his executive council for misusing union money — and Jones’ son, Cullen Jones, pleaded guilty in March to one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of embezzlement from a labor organization.
—Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 3 June 2026
He was charged with misusing 911, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and assault on a law enforcement officer.
—Kairi Lowery, Miami Herald, 2 June 2026
That is the standard set for bringing weapons and cellphones into a secure area, safeguarding department property, monitoring the radio, misusing department letterhead, badges or insignia, secondary employment violations, and recommending bondsmen or attorneys to inmates.
—Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 29 May 2026
In fact, a report by OIG just last year highlighted this as a problem and even led to significant changes at USP Thomson (IL) that had a history of misusing restraints on inmates.
—Walter Pavlo, Forbes.com, 25 May 2026
Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 12 June 2026
Some city leaders had also dinged the county for misusing homelessness money generated from a previous sales tax and argued this new pot of dollars would be handled no better.
—Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2026
Police arrested Brown that night and charged him with misusing 911.
—Charlotte Observer, 9 June 2026
Furthermore, a recent Financial Times investigation revealed that even when AI developers implement guardrails to prevent bad actors from misusing them, protections can be bypassed using openly available software tools in less than 10 minutes.
—Mohammad Hosseini, Chicago Tribune, 4 June 2026
Warren Fairley — who briefly took over as Boilermakers president in 2023 after Jones was ousted by his executive council for misusing union money — and Jones’ son, Cullen Jones, pleaded guilty in March to one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of embezzlement from a labor organization.
—Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 3 June 2026
He was charged with misusing 911, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and assault on a law enforcement officer.
—Kairi Lowery, Miami Herald, 2 June 2026
That is the standard set for bringing weapons and cellphones into a secure area, safeguarding department property, monitoring the radio, misusing department letterhead, badges or insignia, secondary employment violations, and recommending bondsmen or attorneys to inmates.
—Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 29 May 2026
In fact, a report by OIG just last year highlighted this as a problem and even led to significant changes at USP Thomson (IL) that had a history of misusing restraints on inmates.
—Walter Pavlo, Forbes.com, 25 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misusing
abusing
Verb
-
According to Variety and Puck, the film was originally set to dramatize Jackson being accused of abusing 13‑year‑old Jordan Chandler in 1993.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
14 June 2026
-
The lawsuit, filed in December, claims that the Litchfield Middle School failed to act on a complaint from the 1980s that Driscoll was allegedly abusing students before Fitterer and Bird were middle school students in the 1990s.—
Lori Riley,
Hartford Courant,
14 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misusing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misusing. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
