invective implies a comparable vehemence but suggests greater verbal and rhetorical skill and may apply to a public denunciation.
blistering political invective
obloquy suggests defamation and consequent shame and disgrace.
subjected to obloquy and derision
billingsgate implies practiced fluency and variety of profane or obscene abuse.
directed a stream of billingsgate at the cabdriver
Example Sentences
Noun
He subjected his wife to physical and emotional abuse.
the buying of votes and other election abuses
She was subjected to every term of abuse her boss could think of.
a torrent of verbal abuse
The prisoner hurled abuse at the judge. Verb
He was accused of sexually abusing a child.
He abused his body with years of heavy drinking.
He had abused his first car by not taking care of it.
She abused her friend's trust.
a senator who abuses his power
He abused my confidence by letting this secret be known. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The disgraced actor was first accused of psychological abuse and rape from previous romantic partners in 2021.—Elise Brisco, USA TODAY, 5 Feb. 2023 Hammer said his interest in BDSM stemmed from that abuse.—Nicholas Rice, Peoplemag, 4 Feb. 2023 Air Mail reported that the Social Network star spoke about his childhood abuse with an older friend, who has since died, and with his godmother, Candace Garvey, who confirmed Hammer's account.—Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 4 Feb. 2023 These children also were susceptible to drug and alcohol abuse and suicide attempts and were likely to commit violence, the study said.—Justin Gamble, CNN, 4 Feb. 2023 The University of California’s California Policy Lab analyzed surveys of 64,000 people who were homeless across 15 different states and found that 78% of the unsheltered homeless suffered from mental illness and 75% from a substance abuse disorder.—Katherine Drabiak, The Conversation, 3 Feb. 2023 The woman who spoke on Friday afternoon asserted that the industry needs to develop better practices and reporting structures to stop abuse.—Elizabeth Wagmeister, Variety, 3 Feb. 2023 The chatbot’s creator, OpenAI, even unveiled a tool to detect text generated by artificial intelligence to prevent abuse from cheaters, spammers and others.—Josh Zumbrun, WSJ, 3 Feb. 2023 Still, advocates and attorneys argue that the system for helping domestic violence victims and prosecuting them for violent crimes that stem from that abuse still needs work.—Kyla Milberger, ABC News, 3 Feb. 2023
Verb
So New York got rid of its robot because some people didn't trust the police not to abuse the technology.—Philip Martin, Arkansas Online, 10 Jan. 2023 That’s how Apple makes sure people do not abuse the feature.—Chris Smith, BGR, 3 Jan. 2023 This door has been open for tech companies of all stripes to abuse in similar fashion.—Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 7 Jan. 2023 Intention to abuse and control can transform luddites into experts.—Andrea Gunraj, WIRED, 11 Oct. 2022 Other companies might still abuse iPhone data to harvest information about you for targeted ads.—Chris Smith, BGR, 11 Dec. 2022 That many states abuse their powers only underscores why the liberal and politically responsible states must build up national strength.—WSJ, 21 Oct. 2022 But did DiMaggio actually abuse Monroe physically or emotionally?—Paul Schrodt, Men's Health, 10 Oct. 2022 Did Marilyn Monroe’s husband, Joe DiMaggio, abuse her?—Lauren Puckett-pope, ELLE, 29 Sep. 2022 See More
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'abuse.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin abūsus "misuse, waste," noun derivative from abūtī "to exhaust, use up, misuse," from ab-ab- + ūtī "to use entry 1"
Verb
Middle English abusen, borrowed from Anglo-French abuser, verbal derivative of abuseabuse entry 1
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