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Abuse - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
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Abuse : (noun)
1: cruel or inhumane treatment [syn: maltreatment, ill-treatment,
ill-usage]
2: 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" [syn: insult,
revilement, contumely, vilification]
3: improper or excessive use [syn: misuse]
(verb)
1: treat badly; "This boss abuses his workers"; "She is always
stepping on others to get ahead" [syn: mistreat, maltreat,
ill-use, step, ill-treat]
2: 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"
[syn: pervert, misuse]
3: use foul or abusive language towards; "The actress abused
the policeman who gave her a parking ticket"; "The angry
mother shouted at the teacher" [syn: clapperclaw, blackguard,
shout]
Based on WordNet 2.0
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Abuse : \A*buse"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Abused; p. pr. & vb. n.
Abusing.] [F. abuser; L. abusus, p. p. of abuti to abuse,
misuse; ab _ uti to use. See Use.]
1. To put to a wrong use; to misapply; to misuse; to put to a
bad use; to use for a wrong purpose or end; to pervert;
as, to abuse inherited gold; to make an excessive use of;
as, to abuse one's authority.
This principle (if one may so abuse the word) shoots
rapidly into popularity. --Froude.
2. To use ill; to maltreat; to act injuriously to; to punish
or to tax excessively; to hurt; as, to abuse prisoners, to
abuse one's powers, one's patience.
3. To revile; to reproach coarsely; to disparage.
The . . . tellers of news abused the general.
--Macaulay.
4. To dishonor. ``Shall flight abuse your name?'' --Shak.
5. To violate; to ravish. --Spenser.
6. To deceive; to impose on. [Obs.]
Their eyes red and staring, cozened with a moist
cloud, and abused by a double object. --Jer. Taylor.
Syn: To maltreat; injure; revile; reproach; vilify;
vituperate; asperse; traduce; malign.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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Abuse : \A*buse"\, n. [F. abus, L. abusus, fr. abuti. See Abuse,
v. t.]
1. Improper treatment or use; application to a wrong or bad
purpose; misuse; as, an abuse of our natural powers; an
abuse of civil rights, or of privileges or advantages; an
abuse of language.
Liberty may be endangered by the abuses of liberty,
as well as by the abuses of power. --Madison.
2. Physical ill treatment; injury. ``Rejoice . . . at the
abuse of Falstaff.'' --Shak.
3. A corrupt practice or custom; offense; crime; fault; as,
the abuses in the civil service.
Abuse after disappeared without a struggle..
--Macaulay.
4. Vituperative words; coarse, insulting speech; abusive
language; virulent condemnation; reviling.
The two parties, after exchanging a good deal of
abuse, came to blows. --Macaulay.
5. Violation; rape; as, abuse of a female child. [Obs.]
Or is it some abuse, and no such thing? --Shak.
Abuse of distress (Law), a wrongful using of an animal or
chattel distrained, by the distrainer.
Syn: Invective; contumely; reproach; scurrility; insult;
opprobrium.
Usage: Abuse, Invective. Abuse is generally prompted by
anger, and vented in harsh and unseemly words. It is
more personal and coarse than invective. Abuse
generally takes place in private quarrels; invective
in writing or public discussions. Invective may be
conveyed in refined language and dictated by
indignation against what is blameworthy. --C. J.
Smith.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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