Synonyms for abuse
əˈbyuz; əˈbyusabuse

English Synonyms and Antonyms(3.50 / 2 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. abuse

   Abuse covers all unreasonable or improper use or treatment by word or act. A tenant does not abuse rented property by "reasonable wear," though that may damage the property and injure its sale; he may abuse it by needless defacement or neglect. It is possible to abuse a man without harming him, as when the criminal vituperates the judge; or to harm a man without abusing him, as when the witness tells the truth about the criminal. Defame, malign, rail at, revile, slander, vilify, and vituperate are used always in a bad sense. One may be justly reproached. To impose on or to victimize one is to injure him by abusing his confidence. To persecute one is to ill-treat him for opinion's sake, commonly for religious belief; to oppress is generally for political or pecuniary motives. "Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy," Deut. xxiv, 14. Misemploy, misuse, and pervert are commonly applied to objects rather than to persons. A dissolute youth misemploys his time, misuses his money and opportunities, harms his associates, perverts his talents, wrongs his parents, ruins himself, abuses every good gift of God.

   Synonyms:
   aggrieve, damage, defame, defile, disparage, harm, ill-treat, ill-use, impose on, impose upon, injure, malign, maltreat, misemploy, misuse, molest, oppress, persecute, pervert, prostitute, rail at, ravish, reproach, revile, ruin, slander, victimize, vilify, violate, vituperate, wrong

   Antonyms:
   applaud, benefit, care for, cherish, conserve, consider, eulogize, extol, favor, laud, panegyrize, praise, protect, regard, respect, shield, sustain, tend, uphold, vindicate

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. abuseverb

   Synonyms:
   injure, damage, spoil, maltreat, treat-all, ill-use, ill-treat, retile, scandalize, disparage, reproach, upbraid, asperse, malign, slander, vituperate, prostitute, defame, pervert, misuse, misemploy, vilify

   Antonyms:
   tend, protect, conserve, consider, regard, shield, cherish, praise, extol, laud, vindicate, panegyrize, respect

2. abusenoun

   Synonyms:
   mistreatment, invective, ill-treatment, opprobrium, scurrility, vituperation, ribaldry, obloquy, reproach, insolence, misusage, ill-usage

   Antonyms:
   good-usage, good-treatment, kindness, praise, deference, respect

Princeton's WordNet(4.40 / 10 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. maltreatment, ill-treatment, ill-usage, abusenoun

   cruel or inhumane treatment

   "the child showed signs of physical abuse"

   Synonyms:
   ill-treatment, contumely, vilification, insult, revilement, ill-usage, misuse, maltreatment

2. abuse, insult, revilement, contumely, vilificationnoun

   a rude expression intended to offend or hurt

   "when a student made a stupid mistake he spared them no abuse"; "they yelled insults at the visiting team"

   Synonyms:
   smear, ill-treatment, malignment, contumely, vilification, insult, revilement, ill-usage, misuse, affront, maltreatment

3. misuse, abuseverb

   improper or excessive use

   "alcohol abuse"; "the abuse of public funds"

   Synonyms:
   ill-treatment, contumely, vilification, insult, revilement, ill-usage, misuse, maltreatment

4. mistreat, maltreat, abuse, ill-use, step, ill-treatverb

   treat badly

   "This boss abuses his workers"; "She is always stepping on others to get ahead"

   Synonyms:
   pervert, maltreat, blackguard, step, tread, pace, clapperclaw, misuse, shout, mistreat, ill-use, ill-treat

5. pervert, misuse, abuseverb

   change the inherent purpose or function of something

   "Don't abuse the system"; "The director of the factory misused the funds intended for the health care of his workers"

   Synonyms:
   sophisticate, pervert, shout, vitiate, deprave, debauch, twist, ill-use, blackguard, twist around, subvert, misapply, profane, step, corrupt, debase, misdirect, demoralise, convolute, maltreat, misuse, demoralize, clapperclaw, ill-treat, mistreat

6. abuse, clapperclaw, blackguard, shoutverb

   use foul or abusive language towards

   "The actress abused the policeman who gave her a parking ticket"; "The angry mother shouted at the teacher"

   Synonyms:
   hollo, guy, cry out, pervert, shout, clapperclaw, ill-use, blackguard, roast, make fun, shout out, call out, rib, step, mistreat, holler, yell, call, poke fun, jest at, maltreat, misuse, cry, squall, ridicule, outcry, exclaim, ill-treat, scream, laugh at

7. abuseverb

   use wrongly or improperly or excessively

   "Her husband often abuses alcohol"; "while she was pregnant, she abused drugs"

   Synonyms:
   pervert, maltreat, blackguard, clapperclaw, mistreat, misuse, shout, step, ill-use, ill-treat

Matched Categories

1. • Disrespect
   • Mistreatment
   • Treat
   • Use

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. harm to the innocent and vulnerable

   any direct or indirect abuse to children, adults, animals, elderly or the planet

   nursing home abuse. child sex trafficking, rape, ptsd. gaslighting, narcissists, blocking, slut shaming, etc

   Submitted by Debranardifl on May 25, 2021  

2. oppobrium

   public disgrace arising from shameful conduct

   the opprbrium of being closely associated with gangsters.

   Submitted by rinat on November 1, 2015  

Dictionary of English Synonymes(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. abuseverb

   Synonyms:
   misuse, misemploy, misapply, pervert, prostitute, desecrate, profane, make an ill use of

2. abuseverb

   Synonyms:
   maltreat, harm, injure, hurt, ill-treat, ill-use

3. abuseverb

   Synonyms:
   revile, reproach, vilify, slander, traduce, defame, asperse, malign, blacken, disparage, berate, rate, upbraid, calumniate, lampoon, satirize, lash, PASQUINADE, VITUPERATE, rail at, sneer at, speak ill of, accuse falsely, damn with faint praise

4. abuseverb

   Synonyms:
   violate, outrage, ravish, deflour

5. abusenoun

   Synonyms:
   misapplication, misuse, misemployment, profanation, prostitution, desecration, perversion, ill-use

6. abusenoun

   Synonyms:
   maltreatment, outrage, ill-treatment, bad treatment

7. abusenoun

   Synonyms:
   corrupt practice

8. abusenoun

   Synonyms:
   vituperation, railing, reviling, contumely, obloquy, opprobrium, insult, scurrility, ribaldry, JAW, foul invective, rude reproach

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated Words(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. abusenoun

   Synonyms:
   misuse, misapplication, perversion, profanation, desecration, injury, maltreatment, mistreatment, outrage, offense, invective, contumely, reproach, scurrility, opprobrium, tirade, billingsgate, vilification, violation, rape

2. abuseverb

   Synonyms:
   misapply, misuse, pervert, desecrate, violate, profane, maltreat, mistreat, revile, reproach, vilify, vituperate, malign, traduce, violate, ravish, rape

PPDB, the paraphrase database(2.00 / 4 votes)Rate these paraphrases:

1. List of paraphrases for "abuse":

   misuse, ill-treatment, abuses, maltreatment, mistreatment, violence, abused, addiction, exploitation, assault, abusive, aggression, consumption, violation, malpractice, breach, brutality, abusers, violations, misused

How to pronounce abuse?

How to say abuse in sign language?

Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use abuse in a sentence?

1. Sing Oldham:

   The Southern Baptist Convention presents no governing policies to churches because The Southern Baptist Convention is not a governing organization ; The Southern Baptist Convention is The Southern Baptist Convention. Each church is self-governing, however, The Southern Baptist Convention has consistently called on churches to report immediately to law enforcement any known or suspected instance of sexual abuse in a church context and has provided resources to inform churches of ways to help protect their congregants.

2. Matthew McConaughey:

   We need background checks, we need to raise the minimum age to purchase an AR-15 rifle to 21. We need a waiting period for those rifles. We need red flag laws and consequences for those who abuse them.

3. Tracie Afifi:

   We found almost half that enter the military in Canada had a history of child abuse.

4. Democratic Representative Katie Hill:

   I'm leaving because of a misogynistic culture that gleefully consumed my naked pictures, capitalized on my sexuality, and enabled my abusive ex to continue that abuse, this time with the entire country watching, yet a man who brags about his sexual predation ... sits in the highest office of the land.

5. Former OSU wrestler Mike DiSabato:

   Again, I don't -- I don't think Jim Jordan and/or a lot of folks, coaches, administrators, really understood that, you know, touching a man's genitals without the need to do so is the definition -- is a definition of sexual abuse and sexual assault. Again, in the mid -'80s, that -- that term wasn't necessarily used, however, to now say -- to now know that the word does apply to what was happening to us at the time is just -- is -- is -- is just -- it's surprising to me given the fact that Jim Jordan has -- this isn't the Jim Jordan I know.