What is another word for abuse?
Synonyms for abuse
əˈbyuz; əˈbyusabuse
This thesaurus page includes all potential synonyms, words with the same meaning and similar terms for the word abuse.
English Synonyms and Antonyms
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, wrongAntonyms:
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
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, vilifyAntonyms:
tend, protect, conserve, consider, regard, shield, cherish, praise, extol, laud, vindicate, panegyrize, respectabusenoun
Synonyms:
mistreatment, invective, ill-treatment, opprobrium, scurrility, vituperation, ribaldry, obloquy, reproach, insolence, misusage, ill-usageAntonyms:
good-usage, good-treatment, kindness, praise, deference, respect
Princeton's WordNet
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, maltreatmentabuse, 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, maltreatmentmisuse, abuseverb
improper or excessive use
"alcohol abuse"; "the abuse of public funds"
Synonyms:
ill-treatment, contumely, vilification, insult, revilement, ill-usage, misuse, maltreatmentmistreat, 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-treatpervert, 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, mistreatabuse, 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 atabuseverb
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
Editors Contribution
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, 2021oppobrium
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
abuseverb
Synonyms:
misuse, misemploy, misapply, pervert, prostitute, desecrate, profane, make an ill use ofabuseverb
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 praiseabuseverb
abusenoun
Synonyms:
misapplication, misuse, misemployment, profanation, prostitution, desecration, perversion, ill-useabusenoun
Synonyms:
maltreatment, outrage, ill-treatment, bad treatmentabusenoun
Synonyms:
corrupt practiceabusenoun
Synonyms:
vituperation, railing, reviling, contumely, obloquy, opprobrium, insult, scurrility, ribaldry, JAW, foul invective, rude reproach
Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated Words
abusenoun
Synonyms:
misuse, misapplication, perversion, profanation, desecration, injury, maltreatment, mistreatment, outrage, offense, invective, contumely, reproach, scurrility, opprobrium, tirade, billingsgate, vilification, violation, rapeabuseverb
Synonyms:
misapply, misuse, pervert, desecrate, violate, profane, maltreat, mistreat, revile, reproach, vilify, vituperate, malign, traduce, violate, ravish, rape
PPDB, the paraphrase database
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
Words popularity by usage frequency
How to use abuse in a sentence?
He should absolutely not stay in office and should step down, the report details a widespread pattern and practice of abuse and discrimination and dysfunction. Because it is widespread and systemic throughout the entire police department, the buck stops at the top — the person in charge — and that's the chief.
And Kate Delaney, sports commentator and author strongly credits drugs and steroids for the loss of wrestlers through the years. Sadly its steroids fueled with alcohol addiction and sometimes completing the trifecta of abuse – drugs, chyna had a drug addiction many others do and Marc Siegel couple that with steroid abuse it's a lethal cocktail.
All suffered sex abuse and domestic violence, and fled for the safety of their children, my heart is broken. ... Let's keep being their voice.
I hope that they heard that message loud and clear and that they're going to take swift action so that our states and our nation does not continue to overlook the institutional abuse of children.
There is a growing intolerance by the American people of public corruption, an intolerance reflected in the willingness to come forward and report abuse of public office.
Translations for abuse
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- إساءةArabic
- оскърбление, злоупотребявам, изнасилвам, злоупотреба, обида, обиждам, оскърбявамBulgarian
- zneužitíCzech
- misbrug, mishandling, seksuelt misbrug, misbruge, krænke, vanrøgt, mishandleDanish
- Missbrauch, Mißbrauch, missbrauchen, Schmähung, Beleidigung, beleidigen, Mißhandlung, vergewaltigen, Beschimpfung, beschimpfen, MisshandlungGerman
- βρισιές, κακομεταχείριση, κατάχρησηGreek
- abuso, abuso sexualSpanish
- دشنامPersian
- solvata, väärinkäyttää, raiskata, käyttää hyväksi, väärinkäyttö, solvaus, herjaus, väärinkäytös, pahoinpitely, hyväksikäyttö, pahoinpidellä, herjataFinnish
- abus, viol, abuserFrench
- càineadh, trod, cronachadhScottish Gaelic
- abusoGalician
- השתלחות, התעלל, השתלח, ניצול לרעה, התעללות, תקיפה מינית, ניצל לרעהHebrew
- बुरा भला कहना, दुरूपयोग, अपशब्द, गाली देनाHindi
- abuso, abuso sessuale, violenza carnale, violentare, violenza, abusareItalian
- 侮辱, 濫用, ののしる, 性的虐待, 酷使, 虐待Japanese
- ನಿಂದನೆKannada
- 학대Korean
- abūsiō, probrum, obloquor, abūtorLatin
- abuséierenLuxembourgish, Letzeburgesch
- įžeidinėtiLithuanian
- lamātLatvian
- abbużMaltese
- misbrukNorwegian
- verkrachten, beschimpingen, beschimpen, uitschelden, misbruiken, onteren, mishandelen, misbruik, mishandelingDutch
- misbrukNorwegian Nynorsk
- misbruk, utskjelling, voldtekt, mishandle, mishandling, misbruke, skjelle ut, voldtaNorwegian
- atéʼélʼíNavajo, Navaho
- nadużycie, znęcanie się, molestowaniePolish
- ultrajar, afrontar, abusar, enganar, abuso, ofender, insultarPortuguese
- abuzRomanian
- злоупотребление, брань, злоупотреблять, злоупотребить, истязание, нападки, оскорблять, оскорбить, ругать, материть, изнасиловать, оскорбление, ругань, издевательство, издеваться, насилие, обижать, обидеть, обругать, обматерить, насиловатьRussian
- злоупотреба, злостављање, zlostavljanje, злоупотребити, zlostavljati, zloupotreba, zloupotrebiti, злостављатиSerbo-Croatian
- misshandel, missbruka, misshandla, missbrukSwedish
- abuso, panggagahasa, pagmamalupitTagalog
- بدسلوکیUrdu
- migeb, nofön, lunofön, migebön, slanön, lenofönVolapük
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