abuse
verb/əˈbjuːz/
/əˈbjuːz/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they abuse | /əˈbjuːz/ /əˈbjuːz/ |
| he / she / it abuses | /əˈbjuːzɪz/ /əˈbjuːzɪz/ |
| past simple abused | /əˈbjuːzd/ /əˈbjuːzd/ |
| past participle abused | /əˈbjuːzd/ /əˈbjuːzd/ |
| -ing form abusing | /əˈbjuːzɪŋ/ /əˈbjuːzɪŋ/ |
- abuse something to make bad use of something, or to use so much of something that it harms your health
- to abuse alcohol/drugs
- He systematically abused his body with heroin and cocaine.
- People who abuse alcohol over a long period will develop health problems.
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- abuse something to use power or knowledge unfairly or wrongly
- She abused her position as principal by giving jobs to her friends.
- He felt they had abused his trust by talking about him to the press (= tricked him, although he had trusted them).
- abuse somebody/something to treat a person or an animal in a cruel or violent way, especially sexually
- The boy had been sexually abused.
- All the children had been physically and emotionally abused.
- abused children
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- emotionally
- mentally
- physically
- …
- abuse somebody to make rude or offensive remarks to or about somebody synonym insult
- The referee had been threatened and verbally abused.
- He claimed he had been racially abused.
Extra Examples- The striker has been banned for the rest of the season for verbally abusing a referee.
- Journalists covering the case have been threatened and abused.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- emotionally
- mentally
- physically
- …
More Like This Pronunciation changes by part of speechPronunciation changes by part of speech
Word Originlate Middle English: via Old French from Latin abus- ‘misused’, from the verb abuti, from ab- ‘away’ (i.e. ‘wrongly’) + uti ‘to use’.
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abuse