Synonyms for misuse
mɪsˈyus; -ˈyuzmis·use

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. misuse

   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:
   abuse, aggrieve, damage, defame, defile, disparage, harm, ill-treat, ill-use, impose on, impose upon, injure, malign, maltreat, misemploy, 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 AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. misusenoun

   Synonyms:
   abuse, perversion, prostitution

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. misuse, abuseverb

   improper or excessive use

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

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

2. misapply, misuseverb

   apply to a wrong thing or person; apply badly or incorrectly

   "The words are misapplied in this context"; "You are misapplying the name of this religious group"

   Synonyms:
   misapply, pervert, abuse

3. 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, abuse, demoralize, clapperclaw, ill-treat, mistreat

Matched Categories

1. • Apply
   • Use

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. misuseverb

   Synonyms:
   misemploy, misapply, desecrate, profane, pervert, put to a wrong use

2. misuseverb

   Synonyms:
   abuse, maltreat, ill-treat, ill-use

3. misuseverb

   Synonyms:
   waste, squander, fool away, fritter away, muddle away, spend foolishly

4. misusenoun

   Synonyms:
   abuse, perversion, prostitution, profanation

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. misusenoun

   Synonyms:
   misapplication, prostitution, perversion, profanation, maltreatment, abuse

2. misuseverb

   Synonyms:
   misapply, prostitute, pervert, profane, maltreat, abuse

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "misuse":

   abuse, diversion, misappropriation, embezzlement, abuses

How to pronounce misuse?

How to say misuse in sign language?

Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use misuse in a sentence?

1. Rainer Maria Rilke:

   Physical pleasure is a sensual experience no different from pure seeing or the pure sensation with which a fine fruit fills the tongue; it is a great unending experience, which is given us, a knowing of the world, the fullness and the glory of all knowing. And not our acceptance of it is bad; the bad thing is that most people misuse and squander this experience and apply it as a stimulant at the tired spots of their lives and as distraction instead of a rallying toward exalted moments.

2. Bayard Rustin:

   When I say I love Eastland, it sounds preposterous--a man who brutalizes people. But *you* love him or you wouldn't be here. You're going to Mississippi to create social change--and you love Eastland in your desire to create conditions which will redeem his children. Loving your enemy is manifest in putting your arms not around the man but around the social situation, to take power from those who misuse it--at which point they can become human too.

3. Dan Zadra:

   Worry is a misuse of imagination.

4. Erica Olsen:

   Abusive individuals will misuse any type of technology as a tactic of abuse, regardless of the intended purpose or how helpful it can be to someone else, location tracking is very common and a significant concern for survivors, but this isn't specific just to AirTags. Apple's privacy and security notifications can actually make this device harder for abusive people to misuse than others on the market and that point shouldn't be lost.

5. Sean Esteban McCabe:

   Instead, we need to look very long and hard at school strategies that are more or less effective in curbing stimulant medication misuse, parents can make sure the schools their kids attend have safe storage for medication and strict dispensing policies. And ask about prevalence of misuse — that data is available for every school.