Meaning of "abuse" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD ABUSE

C14 (vb): via Old French from Latin abūsus, past participle of abūtī to misuse, from ab-1 + ūtī to use.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF ABUSE

abuse  [əˈbjuːz]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF ABUSE

Abuse is a verb and can also act as a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb abuse in English.

WHAT DOES ABUSE MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Abuse

Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of an entity, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices; crimes, or other types of aggression.

Definition of abuse in the English dictionary

The first definition of abuse in the dictionary is to use incorrectly or improperly; misuse. Other definition of abuse is to maltreat, esp physically or sexually. Abuse is also to speak insultingly or cruelly to; revile.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO ABUSE

PRESENT

Present

I abuse

you abuse

he/she/it abuses

we abuse

you abuse

they abuse

Present continuous

I am abusing

you are abusing

he/she/it is abusing

we are abusing

you are abusing

they are abusing

Present perfect

I have abused

you have abused

he/she/it has abused

we have abused

you have abused

they have abused

Present perfect continuous

I have been abusing

you have been abusing

he/she/it has been abusing

we have been abusing

you have been abusing

they have been abusing

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I abused

you abused

he/she/it abused

we abused

you abused

they abused

Past continuous

I was abusing

you were abusing

he/she/it was abusing

we were abusing

you were abusing

they were abusing

Past perfect

I had abused

you had abused

he/she/it had abused

we had abused

you had abused

they had abused

Past perfect continuous

I had been abusing

you had been abusing

he/she/it had been abusing

we had been abusing

you had been abusing

they had been abusing

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will abuse

you will abuse

he/she/it will abuse

we will abuse

you will abuse

they will abuse

Future continuous

I will be abusing

you will be abusing

he/she/it will be abusing

we will be abusing

you will be abusing

they will be abusing

Future perfect

I will have abused

you will have abused

he/she/it will have abused

we will have abused

you will have abused

they will have abused

Future perfect continuous

I will have been abusing

you will have been abusing

he/she/it will have been abusing

we will have been abusing

you will have been abusing

they will have been abusing

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would abuse

you would abuse

he/she/it would abuse

we would abuse

you would abuse

they would abuse

Conditional continuous

I would be abusing

you would be abusing

he/she/it would be abusing

we would be abusing

you would be abusing

they would be abusing

Conditional perfect

I would have abuse

you would have abuse

he/she/it would have abuse

we would have abuse

you would have abuse

they would have abuse

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been abusing

you would have been abusing

he/she/it would have been abusing

we would have been abusing

you would have been abusing

they would have been abusing

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you abuse
we let´s abuse
you abuse

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to abuse

Past participle

abused

Present Participle

abusing

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «ABUSE»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «abuse» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of abuse

aspersions · blame · brutalize · bullying · calumniate · calumniation · castigate · castigation · censure · character assassination · contumely · corruption · curse · curses · cursing · damage · defamation · defame · derision · disparage · disparagement · diss · dump on · exploit · exploitation · flame · harm · hurt · ill-treat · ill-treatment · imposition · indignities · injure · injury · insolence · insult · invective · libel · malign · maltreat · maltreatment · manhandle · manipulate · mar · maul · misapplication · misapply · misemployment · mistreatment · misusage · misuse · molest · offence · offend · oppress · oppression · opprobrium · perversion · put down · reproach · revile · revilement · rough up · rudeness · scold · scolding · slander · slate · slight · smear · spoil · take advantage of · tirade · traduce · traducement · upbraid · upbraiding · vilification · vilify · vituperate · vituperation · wrong

TRANSLATION OF ABUSE

Find out the translation of abuse to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of abuse from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «abuse» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 侵犯
• Translator English - Spanish: abuso
• English: abuse
• Translator English - Hindi: दुरुपयोग
• Translator English - Arabic: سُوْءُ الاِسْتِعْمال
• Translator English - Russian: оскорбление
• Translator English - Portuguese: abuso
• Translator English - Bengali: অপব্যবহার
• Translator English - French: mauvais traitement
• Translator English - Malay: Penyalahgunaan
• Translator English - German: Missbrauch
• Translator English - Japanese: 虐待
• Translator English - Korean: 남용
• Translator English - Javanese: Penyalahgunaan
• Translator English - Vietnamese: sự lạm dụng
• Translator English - Tamil: தவறாக
• Translator English - Marathi: दुरुपयोग
• Translator English - Turkish: taciz
• Translator English - Italian: abuso
• Translator English - Polish: wykorzystywanie
• Translator English - Ukrainian: образа
• Translator English - Romanian: abuz
• Translator English - Greek: κακοποίηση
• Translator English - Afrikaans: misbruik
• Translator English - Swedish: missbruk
• Translator English - Norwegian: misbruk

10 QUOTES WITH «ABUSE»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word abuse.

1

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Right now, I'm following the Buddhist principle: Smile as abuse is hurled your way and this too shall pass.

2

Andy Behrman

My illness is one often characterized by dramatic overspending - in my case through frenzied shopping sprees, credit card abuse, excessive hoarding of unnecessary material goods and bizarre generosity with family, friends and even strangers.

3

Carol Bellamy

We must ensure that while eliminating child labor in the export industry, we are also eliminating their labour from the informal sector, which is more invisible to public scrutiny - and thus leaves the children more open to abuse and exploitation.

4

Charles Bradlaugh

Better a thousandfold abuse of free speech than denial of free speech.

5

Sitting Bull

What white man has ever seen me drunk? Who has ever come to me hungry and left me unfed? Who has seen me beat my wives or abuse my children? What law have I broken?

6

Warren E. Burger

Calculated risks of abuse are taken in order to preserve higher values.

7

Blu Cantrell

I am disappointed in the music business, I feel like a lot of people in the music business are phoney, there's a lot of people who will abuse and take my kindness.

8

Russ Carnahan

It is irresponsible for this Congress to not investigate the President's lack of an exit strategy, and the fraud, waste, and abuse of U.S. tax dollars.

9

Graydon Carter

Let's face it, who among us wouldn't take a pill or potion that would make us better at our job? Goodness knows, we abuse substances for just about everything in our personal lives; why not in our professional lives as well?

10

Robert Casey

Abortion is defended today as a means of ensuring the equality and independence of women, and as a solution to the problems of single parenting, child abuse, and the feminization of poverty.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «ABUSE»

Discover the use of abuse in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to abuse and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

The Girl Nobody Wants: A Shocking True Story of Child Abuse ...

Her emotional pain is as strong today as it was the day it began and will never leave her alone.“When I go to sleep it’s in my head and when I wake up I can see it in the mirror and I am only waiting to die.” A child abuse story that ...

Lilly O'Brien, 2012

Counselling Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

Counselling Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse honestly addresses the complex issues in this important area of work.

Christiane Sanderson, 2006

Healing the Scars of Emotional Abuse

"If you are suffering from the pervasive pain of emotional abuse through words or actions, you have suffered long enough. This book offers a balm for the battered soul.

Gregory L. Ph.D. Jantz, 2009

Counseling Survivors of Sexual Abuse

This powerful book deals with the issue of how Christians, especially those called to counsel, can help survivors of sexual abuse find healing and hope.

Diane Langberg, 2003

Preventing Alcohol Abuse: Alcohol, Culture, and Control

The prevailing approach to preventing or reducing alcohol problems is generally ineffective, often counter-productive.

David J. Hanson, 1995

Anabolic Steroid Abuse

Health risks associated with the abuse of anabolic steroids are covered along with the biological reasons why steroids affect the body the way they do. Behavioral effects are also discussed. Charts, graphs and diagrams.

Geraline C. Lin, Lynda Erinoff, 1996

Abuse Of Power

That's all there is to that," to a quiet conversation with Rose Mary Woods to see if there remained $100,000 in his safe for "a campaign thing that we're talking about," here is a money trail that anyone can follow.

Stanley Kutler, 1999

Elder Abuse: A Decade of Shame and Inaction

Covers: How Are Elders Abused? (case histories, physical abuse and neglect, financial abuse, psychological abuse, self-neglect, sexual abuse, and violation of rights); Theories For Why Abuse Occurs; Survey of the State Human Services Dept. ...

DIANE Publishing Company, 1995

Drug Use and Abuse

Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.

Stephen Maisto, Mark Galizio, Gerard Connors, 2010

The Day Care Ritual Abuse Moral Panic

This work is a sociologically based analysis of the day care ritual abuse panic in America.

Mary de Young, 2004

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «ABUSE»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term abuse is used in the context of the following news items.

Emma Hunt reveals toll of husband Karmichael Hunt's drug abuse …

Karmichael Hunt's wife has revealed she was almost relieved when her husband was arrested following "many years" of out-of-control alcohol ... «Sydney Morning Herald, Jul 15»

Traditional Affairs saddened by reports of abuse on initiates

“Some of the deaths are as a result of the issue of physical abuse, some of them died as a result of dehydration. Others died on the way to ... «Eyewitness News, Jul 15»

AM accuses Welsh Government of 'part time attitude' to domestic …

The Welsh Government has been accused of a “part-time commitment” to the issue of domestic abuse. The criticism comes from South Wales ... «WalesOnline, Jul 15»

Perth diocese to act on sex abuse

Perth diocese to act on sex abuse Archbishop Timothy Costello with Kylee and Aaliyah Tungol, Abigail Seaver and Theodore and Timothy ... «The West Australian, Jul 15»

RTE facing third legal action over 'abuse' show

RTE could be facing further legal bills from the Mission to Prey programme that has already clocked up an estimated bill of €2m in costs, fees ... «Irish Independent, Jul 15»

Police investigate animal abuse in Fayette County

State Police at Uniontown are searching for an unknown person who broke into a Fayette County barn late Saturday night and abused a pig. «Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Jul 15»

Police investigate severe child abuse in Riviera Beach

47-year-old Debra Galloway, the childrens' legal guardian, was arrested for two counts of Aggravated Child Abuse and two counts of Neglect ... «WPTV.com, Jul 15»

Life for British Muslims since 7/7 – abuse, suspicion and constant …

Life for British Muslims since 7/7 – abuse, suspicion and constant apologies. Mehdi Hasan. The London bombings shocked us all. But in the ... «The Guardian, Jul 15»

CFMEU, member cop $24000 fine for racial abuse against American

The union accepted the abuse occurred, according to signed court documents. He is said to have asked the site representative: "Is this s**thole ... «Sydney Morning Herald, Jul 15»

Opinion: Make pain pills harder to abuse

Dr. Shawn Ryan is CEO of Brightview, an outpatient addiction medicine practice in Cincinnati. Prescription drug abuse in America has been ... «Cincinnati.com, Jul 15»