abusen.

Brit.

/əˈbjuːs/, U.S.

/əˈbjus/

Forms: Middle English– abuse, 1600s abusse; Scottish pre-1700 abbus, pre-1700 abose, pre-1700 abusse, pre-1700 pre-1700– abuse, pre-1700 1900s– abuise.

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French abus; Latin abūsus.

Etymology: < Middle French abus, abbus (French abus ; also in Anglo-Norman as abuse (rare)) excessive exercise of power (1348), misuse, excessive use (1370), error (a1403), excess, disorder (1445), deceit (c1450), bad practice or custom that has become established (1451) and its etymon classical Latin abūsus misuse, wasting, in post-classical Latin also sexual abuse, violation (12th cent. in a British source), malpractice (from 13th cent. in British sources) < abūs- , past participial stem of abūtī abuse v. + -tus , suffix forming verbal nouns. Compare Old Occitan abus (1471), Catalan abús (14th cent.), Spanish abuso (1490), Portuguese abuso (1564), Italian abuso (c1565). Compare abuse v., and earlier abusion n.

1. Improper usage; a corrupt practice or custom; esp. one that has become chronic.

ΚΠ

1439–40 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. Nov. 1439 §17. m. 14 The harmes, that..hath ben doon unto hem, by grete abuse of the purveours of his householde.

1483 W. Caxton tr. A. Chartier Curial sig. ij The abuses of the courte..ben suche that a man is neuer suffred tenhaunce hym self.

1536 T. Cromwell Let. 8 June in R. B. Merriman Life & Lett. T. Cromwell (1902) II. 14 Thextirpacion abolicion and extinguishment of suche abuses errours and enormyties.

?1542 H. Brinkelow Complaynt Roderyck Mors i. sig. A6 Such abuses as are to be reformed in the realme.

1649 in J. D. Marwick Rec. Convent. Royal Burghs Scotl. (1878) III. 348 Abusses and dissorderris.

1699 Dr. Tanner in S. Pepys Diary (1879) VI. 186 Some letters about the abuses of Christ's Hospital.

1709 J. Swift Project Advancem. Relig. 61 The Nature of Things is such, that if Abuses be not remedied, they will certainly encrease.

1780 E. Burke Speech Oeconomical Reformation 13 There is a time, when the hoary head of inveterate abuse will neither draw reverence, nor obtain protection.

1808 J. Bentham Sc. Reform 2 The abuses, with which the regular system of procedure is spotted.

1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 121 It seemed perfectly natural that he should defend abuses by which he profited.

1910 J. Evers Baseball in Big Leagues iii. 50 The principal abuses of the system have been by major leagues taking players from lower class leagues.

1957 M. C. Wright Last Stand of Chinese Conservatism 168 What was necessary was an effort to check the worst abuses.

1995 Sun (Baltimore) 8 Aug. a1/6 Financial abuses at Madison were amongst the worst he had seen.

2008 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 6 Nov. 46/1 James Galbraith has likewise placed..the systematic abuse of public institutions for private profit..at the center of his proposed substitute.

a. Wrong or improper use (of something), misuse; misapplication; perversion.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > misuse > [noun]

abusion?1387

misusing1395

misusea1398

abusingc1450

abuse?1473

misordering1526

abusage1548

misusage1567

misemployment1597

missaw1614

misimprovement1644

abusivenessa1677

misemploying1686

violation1795

?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) I. lf. 21 Hyt were abuse and folye for to speke therof for this present tyme ony more.

1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 59 It is a grete abuse to me for to thinke & haue a renouelement of payne.

?1548 J. Bale Comedy Thre Lawes Nature ii. sig. C^v These two wyll hym so vse, Ich one in their abuse.

1596 W. Warner Albions Eng. (rev. ed.) ix. lii. 238 Yeat things, that of themselues be good, abuse brings out of square.

1640 Englands Complaint to Iesus Christ sig. G There are great grievances..: reading of Apocrypha Books, abuse of Excommunication.

1698 J. Collier Short View Immorality Eng. Stage i. 5 The abuse of a thing is no argument against the use of it.

1702 C. Brent Ess. Nature Guilt & Lying i. 16 They [sc. figurative expressions] are so far from being a lying abuse of Speech, that plain Speaking would not answer all the ends of it without them.

1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters i. 29 I have observed the same from the abuse of Spa water.

1843 J. S. Mill Syst. Logic I. i. ii. §4. 35 Imitating him in this abuse of language.

1862 Ld. Brougham Brit. Constit. (ed. 3) i. 18 It would be a great abuse of terms to call the Venetian a Mixed Aristocracy.

1875 H. E. Manning Internal Mission of Holy Ghost v. 130 Self-love..is the abuse and perversion of that love of self which is a divine law.

1933 Times 29 Dec. 16/2 The letter..concluded with some pertinent observations on the use and abuse of paper money.

1985 Times 11 Feb. 9/7 The Government would issue directives to stop what he called the abuse of national resources.

1997 G. Carlin Brain Droppings 169 I object to the abuse of the word tragedy. Every time some asshole stops breathing these days it's called a tragedy.

†b. Rhetoric. Improper use of words, catachresis. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > inaccuracy, inexactness > incorrectness of language > [noun] > incorrect application of words

abusion1538

abuse1589

catachresis1589

miswording1804

1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xvi. 150 Catachresis, or the Figure of abuse..if for lacke of naturall and proper terme or worde we take another, neither naturall nor proper and do vntruly applie it to the thing which we would seeme to expresse.

1613 T. Fitzherbert Adioynder to Suppl. R. Persons Discuss. ix. 376 There is no other Catachresis (I meane no other abuse) in all this matter.

1681 T. Delaune & B. Keach Τροπολογία i. 196 Catachresis, is called in Latin Abusio, an abuse,..because the things that are Catachrestical, differ in some things from the Custom of speaking Tropically.

a1716 R. South Serm. Several Occasions (1744) XI. 93 The acception of the word amongst the Greeks and Latines..is through abuse and degeneration.

1784 in tr. F. Rabelais Wks. II. iii. xvii. 302 'Tis spoken, I suppose, by Way of Abuse..as the Latins sometimes call a Swimming-place..by the Name of a Fish-pond.

c. spec. The non-therapeutic or excessive use of a drug; the misuse of any substance, esp. for its stimulant effects. Frequently with distinguishing word.drug, solvent abuse: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [noun]

overdrinkeOE

drinkingc1200

excessc1386

bibbinga1400

bollingc1540

boozingc1540

bousingc1540

swillingc1563

tippling1567

carousing1582

swinking1590

bezzling1598

swill1602

swink1611

overdrinking1616

popination1623

sottishness1648

fuddling1665

toping1668

bibbership1670

abuse1732

dram-drinking1772

dramminga1790

potation1808

spree1811

muzzling1828

bibbery1831

Bacchanalianism1855

Bacchanalism1858

smiling1858

bibulation1882

tanking1891

reeler1950

1732 R. Gwinnett et al. Pylades & Corinna II. xxiii. 94 That Law, which to prevent Drunkenness, and the Abuse of Wine, ordered all Vineyards to be destroyed.

1787 J. Wesley Let. 11 Dec. (1931) VIII. 26 Distilled liquors have their use, but are infinitely overbalanced by the abuse of them.

1856 C. J. Hempel tr. G. H. G. Jahr Homeopathic Treatm. Dis. Females 126 In many cases metrorrhagia is induced by a stimulating diet, abuse of spirits, coffee, drugs.

1885 Dr. Ranney in Harper's Mag. Mar. 641/2 The abuse of stimulants, in the form of alcohol, tobacco, tea, and coffee.

1922 W. H. Ukers All about Coffee xxviii. 437 Too much [caffein] could be ingested from abuse of any beverage containing it.

1961 Drug Addiction (Rep. Interdepartmental Comm., Min. Health & Dept. of Health, Scotl.) 15 The abuse of stimulant drugs such as the amphetamines and phenmetrazine has led to some publicity and concern.

1962 Times 7 May 11/7 Cannabis abuse is very likely to be the forerunner of addiction to more dangerous addicting drugs.

1984 Sunday Times 9 Dec. 3/6 This is a setback for the campaign against increasing heroin abuse among the young.

2009 N.Y. Times 5 May d7/1 Typical high-functioning alcoholics..are in denial about their abuse of alcohol.

d. abuse of notation n. Mathematics a use of notation which, although formally incorrect, is considered convenient or intuitive while being unlikely to cause errors or confusion.

ΚΠ

1953 Ann. Math. 58 85 By abuse of notation, a chain in any complex A(Π, n) can thus be regarded as one in A(Π, n + 1) or in A(Π, n + 2),..without change of notation.

1973 I. Stewart Galois Theory 5 This abuse of notation will cause no confusion as long as it is understood that n may be zero in the field without being zero as an integer.

2008 J. C. Garrison & R. Y. Chiao Quantum Optics iv. 126 The initial condition V(t₀) = 1 really should be V(t₀) = I_QED.., but alert readers will suffer no harm from this slight abuse of notation.

†3. The process of using up or wearing out. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > using up, expending, or consuming > [noun]

spendinga1430

use1440

consumptionc1522

abuse1539

spensec1547

abusinga1555

waste1569

expense1593

dispendium1648

expenditure1812

using-up1863

1539 Bible (Great) Col. ii. 22 Touch not, tast not, handell not: whych all peryeshe thorow the very abuse [ Wyclif vse. Tindale & 1611 vsinge].

†4. Imposture, deceit; delusion; an instance of this. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > [noun] > a trick, deception

wrenchc888

swikec893

braida1000

craftOE

wile1154

crookc1175

trokingc1175

guile?c1225

hocket1276

blink1303

errorc1320

guileryc1330

sleightc1340

knackc1369

deceitc1380

japec1380

gaudc1386

syllogism1387

mazec1390

mowa1393

train?a1400

trantc1400

abusionc1405

creekc1405

trickc1412

trayc1430

lirtc1440

quaint?a1450

touch1481

pawka1522

false point?1528

practice1533

crink1534

flim-flamc1538

bobc1540

fetcha1547

abuse1551

block1553

wrinklec1555

far-fetch?a1562

blirre1570

slampant1577

ruse1581

forgery1582

crank1588

plait1589

crossbite1591

cozenage1592

lock1598

quiblin1605

foist1607

junt1608

firk1611

overreach?1615

fob1622

ludification1623

knick-knacka1625

flam1632

dodge1638

gimcrack1639

fourbe1654

juggle1664

strategy1672

jilt1683

disingenuity1691

fun1699

jugglementa1708

spring1753

shavie1767

rig?1775

deception1794

Yorkshire bite1795

fakement1811

fake1829

practical1833

deceptivity1843

tread-behind1844

fly1861

schlenter1864

Sinonism1864

racket1869

have1885

ficelle1890

wheeze1903

fast one1912

roughie1914

spun-yarn trick1916

fastie1931

phoney baloney1933

fake-out1955

okey-doke1964

mind-fuck1971

1551 S. Gardiner Explic. Catholique Fayth f. 86^v All this were vayne eloquence, and a mere abuse and illusion, if the Sacramentall tokens were only a figure.

1555 W. Waterman tr. J. Boemus Fardle of Facions Pref. 15 Some he [sc. the deuell] reuersed into their former abuses and errours.

1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iv. vii. 49 Or is it some abuse, and no such thing?

1653 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais 1st Bk. Wks. xlv. 201 Do the false Prophets teach you such abuses?

1717 T. Lewis Scourge 18 Nov. 354 The People love to be deceiv'd, and place their Abuses among their Blessings, and their Guides glory in the Cheat.

5. Contemptuous or insulting language; reviling, scurrility. Formerly also: a verbal insult.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > [noun] > abusive language

teleeOE

conteckc1380

contumelyc1386

flitec1400

abuse1559

doggery?1577

vinegar-railing1609

Billingsgate1676

slangwhang1834

tongue-plague1853

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > invective or abuse > [noun]

balec1220

ordurec1390

revile1439

brawlingc1440

railing1466

opprobry?a1475

revilingc1475

vituperation1481

vituper1484

vitupery1489

convicy1526

abusion?1530

blasphemation1533

pelta1540

oblatration?1552

words of mischief1555

abuse1559

inveighing1568

invection1590

revilement1590

invective1602

opprobration1623

invecture1633

thunder and lightning1638

raillery1669

rattlinga1677

blackguarding1742

pillory1770

slang1805

slangwhanging1809

bullyragging1820

slanging1856

bespattering1862

bespatterment1870

bad-mouthing1939

bad mouth1947

slagging1956

flak1968

verbal1970

handbagging1987

pelters1992

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > slander or calumny > [noun]

teleeOE

folk-leasinga1000

tolec1000

wrayingc1000

missaw?c1225

slanderc1290

disclanderc1300

famationc1325

noisec1325

skander1338

missaying1340

misspeecha1375

slanderingc1380

biting1382

defaminga1400

filtha1400

missaya1400

obloquya1438

oblocution?a1439

juroryc1440

defamationa1450

defamea1450

forspeaking1483

depravinga1500

defamya1513

injury?1518

depravation1526

maledictiona1530

abusion?1530

blasphemation1533

infamation1533

insectationa1535

calumning1541

calumniation?1549

abuse1559

calumnying1563

calumny1564

belying?1565

illingc1575

scandalizing1575

misparlance?1577

blot1587

libelling1587

scandal1596

traducement1597

injurying1604

deprave1610

vilifying1611

noisec1613

disfame1620

sycophancy1622

aspersion1633

disreport1640

medisance1648

bollocking1653

vilification1653

sugillation1654

blasphemya1656

traduction1656

calumniating1660

blaspheming1677

aspersing1702

blowing1710

infamizing1827

malignation1836

mud-slinging1858

mud-throwing1864

denigration1868

mud-flinging1876

dénigrement1883

malignment1885

injurious falsehood1907

mud-sling1919

bad-mouthing1939

bad mouth1947

trash-talking1974

1559 W. Baldwin et al. Myrroure for Magistrates i. 4 Blowen up the blast of all abuse.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) v. i. 340 Harke how the villaine would close now, after his treasonable abuses .

1687 E. Settle Refl. Dryden's Plays Pref. sig. A2^v 'Tis a Language that his Vnimitable Impudence more than..his Abuses on the Author have extorted from me.

1759 W. H. Dilworth Life of Pope 77 Mr. Pope bore for a long time the gross abuses thrown out by his adversaries.

a1780 J. Harris Philol. Inq. (1781) iii. xv. 523 For every past age, when present, has been the object of abuse.

1807 Edinb. Rev. 10 115 Unlimited abuse of private characters is another characteristic of the American press.

a1859 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. (1861) V. xxiv. 128 The two parties, after exchanging a good deal of abuse, came to blows.

1898 Argosy Oct. 481 Fleetwood began a string of abuse.

1926 W. Lewis Art of being Ruled v. i. 138 The tone of studied contempt on the one hand, or despairing abuse on the other..is unmerited probably.

1969 W. H. Auden City without Walls 28 Out you would storm, arms whirling, screaming abuse.

2002 Loaded July 39/1 As a term of abuse, the word ‘bastard’ dates back to Elizabethan times.

a. Sexual violation, esp. rape; sexual assault or maltreatment (esp. of a woman or child). Cf. self-abuse n. 3.In later use frequently including also physical or emotional ill-treatment (cf. sense 6b).

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > loss of chastity > [noun] > defilement of chastity or woman > forcible

forcinga1382

oppressionc1395

rapec1425

ravishment1436

rapt1449

violation?1506

violating1523

stuprationa1525

abuse1585

raping?1585

constupration1611

rapture?1615

gang-banging1949

1585 A. Golding tr. P. Mela Worke of Cosmographer i. viii. 15 Women, the first night they are married, shall abandon themselues to the common abuse of all men.

a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) ii. xviii. sig. Bb1 Was it not inough for him, to haue deceiued me, & through the deceipt abused me, & after the abuse forsaken me?

1630 P. Massinger Picture v. i. 396 Were all that study the abuse of women Us'd thus, the city would not swarm with cuckolds.

a1634 E. Coke 3rd Pt. Inst. Laws Eng. (1644) xi. 60 Rape is felony by the Common law, declared by Parliament for the unlawfull and carnall knowledge and abuse of any woman above the age of ten years against her will.

1766 Spectator No. 533 271 Why should not every contributor to the abuse of chastity suffer death?

1795 J. Macknight New Literal Transl. Apostolical Epist. I. 479 The wretches who suffered this abuse [sc. sodomy] were..called Pathics.

1834 J. Forbes et al. Cycl. Pract. Med. III. 589 By the same act the crime of rape, or of the abuse and carnal knowledge of a girl under ten years of age, is punishable by death.

1860 Law Times 8 Dec. iii. 412 The word abuse is manifestly used as different from the word rape: it may include rape no doubt, or it may not.

1925 K. Mayo Isles of Fear xviii. 204 There are some things that we cannot condone if we accept any commitment from our own Christianity. One of these is the abuse of children. The youngest victim of rape..was three weeks old.

1979 M. Roodkowsky in S. T. Bruyn & P. M. Rayman Nonviolent Action & Social Change iv. xii. 255 Soldiers' abuse of women ranks along with looting, burning and bombing as a means of subduing the enemy.

2010 Tablet 27 Mar. 6/1 I have been deeply disturbed by the information which has come to light regarding the abuse of children and vulnerable young people.

b. Physical or mental maltreatment; the inflicting of physical or emotional harm or damage.Recorded earliest in self-abuse n. 2a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > ill-treatment > [noun] > amounting to cruelty

abuse1653

abusiveness1905

1653 E. Waterhouse Two Brief Medit. 58 No man hath any warrant for self-abuse: We are not nostri, sed alieni juris; and God will see we shall not destroy his work besides his will.

1698 (title) Lex forcia: being a sensible address to the Parliament for an act to remedy the foul abuse of children at schools.

1791 W. Taplin Gentleman's Stable Directory II. 143 The constant ill usage and violent abuse of horses.

1877 Proc. Trial Joel B. Erhardt et al. 217 More than seven-eighths of the crimes involving personal violence, homicides,..assaults and batteries, the abuse of families and children..may be traced to the use of intoxicating liquors.

1893 Medico-Legal Jrnl. (N.Y.) 10 377 Cruelty signifies abuse, and the law is to be construed in its application, to prevent the abuse of children.

1930 Timber Growing & Logging & Turpentining Pract. in Southern Pine Region (U.S. Dept. Agric. Techn. Bull. No. 204) 105 One obstacle to reforestation..is the condition of these tracts.., as a result of abuse... Most of them have been culled from time to time, until the present stand is only a remnant of the original forest.

1971 Jrnl. Marriage & Family 33 649/2 Emotional abuse or neglect essentially are forms of parental behavior which while not directly damaging to a child physically are considered to be injurious to his emotional and mental health.

1985 J. J. Costa (title) Abuse of the elderly: a guide to resources and services.

2000 Sunday News (Dar-es-Salaam) 26 Mar. 5/2 Zoo Check, a pressure group campaigning against the abuse of animals in the name of entertainment.

†7. Injury, wrong; insult; ill-usage. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > harm or injury > [noun]

loathc900

teenOE

ungrithlOE

wemming1100

waningc1175

wrongc1275

prejudicec1300

derea1325

torferc1325

eviltyc1330

griefc1330

wem1338

injurec1374

truitc1390

noyinga1398

inconvenience14..

nocument?a1425

outraya1425

injuryc1430

mischieving1432

supprise1442

incommodityc1450

interess1489

grudge1491

tort1532

wreaka1542

impeachment1548

inconveniency1553

indemnity1556

interestc1575

abuse1595

mischievance1600

oblesion1656

grit1876

the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > ill-treatment > [noun]

mishandlinga1393

deraya1400

villainya1400

outraya1425

mistreating1453

mispersoning1522

misentreating1531

misusing1548

misusage1555

misuse1591

abuse1595

hard measure1611

ill usage1621

evil-usage1645

ill-treatment1667

maltreatment1702

mistreatment1716

punishment1811

1595 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 iii. iii. 188 Did I let passe the abuse done to my neece?

a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) v. iii. 7 My husband will not reioyce so much at the abuse of Falstaffe, as he will chafe at the Doctors marrying my daughter.

1682 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) I. 224 Lieutenant Colonel Quiney..offered an abuse to Sir John Lawrence by pulling him down off the hustings.

1704 W. Alexander Short Surv. Lineal Descent Sovereign Princes i. ii. 40 He [sc. Edward III]..to revenge the abuse done him in France, enters Normandy.

1784 Anc. & Present State Youghall iii. 91 I had sundry Papers..which might discover a great deal of wrong and abuse done to the Queen.

Phrases

abuse of process n. Law the improper use of a legal process for a purpose other than that intended by the law; a tort (tort n. 2) where damage is caused by such use.

ΚΠ

1785 C. Lofft Ess. Law of Libels 78 He then enumerates the cases in which this power has been exerted against..attornies for mal-practices of various sorts in abuse of process.

1822 Ann. Law Reg. U.S. 4 1218/1 If there is fraud or irregularity in the sale, the court out of which the writ issued..would, in a summary manner, inquire into it on a rule to show cause, notice or other proper proceeding, and relieve, by setting aside the sale, on the ground of abuse of process, misconduct or irregularity of the officer or the party.

1925 Yale Law Jrnl. 34 309 A judgment was rendered against a City Magistrate for malicious prosecution and abuse of process.

2009 Private Eye 27 Nov. 9/3 Judge after judge described the charges as an abuse of process.

Compounds

(Chiefly in sense 6.)

C1. General attributive, as abuse problem, abuse scandal, etc.

ΚΠ

1919 C. L. Brown Municipal Court & Home: Addr. to Forum of Y.M.C.A., Apr. 27, at Philadelphia 5 To us, in our Court, may come oftener problems of intemperance or abuse problems.., but, on the whole, we get the same personal and temperamental problems as appear in homes anywhere.

1923 Electric Railway Jrnl. 23 June 1043/1 The abuse factor also contributes largely to the growth. The engineer states that the looseness of the present system, combined with the lack of systematic checking, has invited and encouraged abuse.

1968 J. H. Jaffe in D. H. Efron Psychopharmacol. viii. 854/1 Nalorphine has virtually no abuse potential; its subjective effects are not ‘liked’ by post-addicts.

1989 T. S. Trepper & M. J. Barett Systemic Treatm. Incest 5 Therapists..who were abused..may want to be abuse therapists to resolve their own family experience.

1995 J. Healy Rescue (1996) 230 ‘You don't have some kind of Domestic Violence unit here?’ ‘We do. Got an Abuse Hotline down on Key West, though that's mostly for children and the elderly.’

2010 Guardian (Nexis) 19 Mar. 34 The suppression of truth at the heart of the abuse scandal will bewilder the Catholic faithful.

C2.

abuse allegation n.

ΚΠ

1958 Ironwood (Mich.) Daily Globe 29 Mar. 1/2 (heading) Other FCC commissioners face abuse allegations.

2010 J. F. Gainsborough Scandalous Politics v. 114 The resulting state investigation faulted the..agencies for not following procedures in previous abuse allegation investigations involving the family.

abuse case n.

ΚΠ

1891 Daily Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 13 Oct. 2/5 After some unimportant abuse cases were disposed of the Court adjourned.

2002 N.Y. Times 7 Apr. 12/6 The cardinal has adopted..a new..approach to the church crisis..harshly criticizing a church lawyer for dragging her feet in telling the police of three abuse cases.

abuse charge n.

ΚΠ

1904 Lima (Ohio) Times Democrat 31 Dec. Abuse charges that could not, be substantiated against wife and daughter, and finally abandonment led to the granting of a divorce to the plaintiff.

2006 R. M. Thomas Violence in America's Schools v. 102 Even when a person is exonerated of an abuse charge, the publicity that accompanied the event..can linger on.

abuse counselling n.

ΚΠ

1988 M. D. Pellauer et al. Sexual Assault xi. 120 Some abuse counseling will ask more of us as counselors than we can give.

2009 H. Cefrey Domest. Violence ii. 27 If an abuser desires to be reunited with his or her family, the courts may require him or her to undergo abuse counseling or an intervention program.

abuse counsellor n.

ΚΠ

1984 Winnipeg Free Press 24 Feb. 2/1 The relationship between the principal characters in Gone With the Wind underlines the way in which society condones deviant behavior, an abuse counsellor told a conference on family violence.

2010 Sunday Life (Belfast) (Nexis) 11 July 36 Suggest that your husband speaks to an abuse counsellor.

abuse victim n.

ΚΠ

1927 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald 19 Apr. 5/6 (heading) 2 boys, alleged abuse victims, get good homes.

2002 Washington Post 1 Dec. (Home ed.) (Mag.) 32/1 He suffers from dissociative disorder, a common reaction of abuse victims who block out memories in order to survive.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

abusev.

Brit.

/əˈbjuːz/, U.S.

/əˈbjuz/

Forms: late Middle English– abuse, 1500s abbuse; Scottish pre-1700 abeise, pre-1700 abose, pre-1700 aboys, pre-1700 abusse, pre-1700 abvse, pre-1700 abwse, pre-1700 1700s– abuse, 1800s abase, 1900s– abaise, 1900s– abeese, 1900s– abuize. See also buse v.

Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French abuser.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman and Middle French abuser (French abuser ) to deceive (c1270 in Old French), to misuse, put to wrong use (1312), to make a mistake, be mistaken (c1340), probably < an unattested post-classical Latin form *abusare < classical Latin abūsus , past participle of abūti to use up, to squander, waste, to make full use of, utilize, to take advantage of, exploit, to put to wrong use, to misinterpret, misrepresent, to misuse (language), in post-classical Latin also to violate, to maltreat or injure (Vulgate), not to use (5th cent.) < ab- ab- prefix + ūti use v. Compare Old Occitan abusar (1455), Catalan abusar (1450), Spanish abusar (14th cent.), Portuguese abusar (1533), Italian abusare (1581). Compare abuse n., and earlier abusion n.

a. transitive. To use (something) improperly, to misuse; to make a bad use of; to pervert; to take advantage of wrongly.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > misuse > [verb (transitive)]

misnote?c1225

disusec1380

misusea1382

abusec1430

misbehave?1529

misemploy1609

misdemeana1625

misimprove1648

c1430 Acts Parl. Scotl. (1844) I. 333/2 At thai aboysis thar seruice.

a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) 23631 The good that god hath sent by hir thei ben wrongly dispent, And ageyn his wul abused.

1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1901) I. ii. xix. 202 The romanis..abusit al þare pussance with civil contentiouns.

1550 in Acts Privy Council (1891) III. 170 It was convenyent to take downe the aultars as thinges abused.

1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 38^v How wantonly, yea, and howe willingly haue wee abused our golden time.

1611 Bible (King James) 1 Cor. ix. 18 Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.

1664 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders (new ed.) i. sig. c3 With more I shall not presume to abuse your Lordships Patience.

1708 Acct. Remarkable Passages Life Private Gentleman iii. 290 Many are Sick and Weak, and others fall asleep for abusing it [sc. God's mercy].

1771 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) II. lxi. 283 The liberty of the press may be abused.

1817 W. Scott Rob Roy I. i. 6 I dare not promise that I may not abuse the opportunity so temptingly offered me.

1828 Blackwood's Mag. June 933/2 These laws are abused upon assumptions which are obviously false and impossible.

1876 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest II. x. 503 Restoring his brother to the authority which he had so abused.

1916 A. A. Brill tr. S. Freud Wit & its Relation to Unconsc. vi. 250 ‘Wish fulfilment’—a term easily remembered and easily abused.

1970 C. Ojeda & J. Castro tr. A. A. Marche Luzon & Palawan viii. 122 Many have abused the hospitality of residents, and the Filipinos have become cautious.

1998 Daily Tel. 4 Sept. 18/3 Even if it is decided that Mr Clinton has abused his office, Congress members may not want to get rid of him.

†b. intransitive. To behave improperly. Obsolete. rare.

ΚΠ

?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 65 (MED) Whow durste þou a-monge fruteful presume and Abuse.

†c. transitive. To use (something) in error, to mistake for (another thing). Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > take wrongly, mistake [verb (transitive)] > do wrongly

misworkc1300

mistakea1382

abuse1548

1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. C.viij^v One is gardine Rokket, whiche is muche greater then the other, & it hath a white leafe, some abuse thys for whyte mustarde.

1551 W. Turner Herball (1568) i. 41 Some have abused long smallage for persely, wherein they have been deceived.

d. transitive. To use (alcohol, etc.) excessively; to use (a drug) without medical justification.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > take drugs [verb (transitive)]

abuse1901

drop1966

do1969

misuse1970

1831 S. Nott Temperance & Relig. ii. 19 The more wealthy members of society, only, have been able to abuse wine.

1854 Littell's Living Age 29 July 213 Young men who have led an irregular life, who have abused wine at the inns.

1901 Pharmaceut. Jrnl 19 Jan. p. b/2 In his opinion opium was a necessity, a luxury, and a stimulant, and the percentage of those who abused opium was so small as not to be noticeable.

1960 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 10 Dec. 241/1 Dr. Lawlor said he found it impossible to find anyone who could swear that he was not abusing drugs.

1972 E. H. Ellinwood in E. H. Ellinwood & S. Cohen Current Concepts on Amphetamine Abuse xiv. 146/1 The greatest increase in libido was often noted in women..who had been relatively frigid prior to abusing amphetamines.

2002 Time 11 Feb. 67/1 Xanax..ranks low on the scale of drugs most likely to be abused.

†2. transitive. To misrepresent (a person or thing); to adulterate; to falsify. reflexive. To show oneself in false colours, to make false pretensions. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > behaviour > affected behaviour or affectation > act affectedly [verb (reflexive)]

abuse?a1439

plume1637

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > misrepresentation > misrepresent [verb (transitive)]

disguise1398

colourc1400

abuse?a1439

wrest1524

beliec1531

to spell (one) backward1600

misuse1609

bowa1616

falsify1630

misrepresent1633

traduce1643

garble1659

miscolour1661

misrender1674

travesty1825

misdescribe1827

skew1872

misportray1925

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > pretend, dissemble [verb (reflexive)]

feign1297

abuse?a1439

counterfeit1610

personate1710

to pass off1770

to hold out1829

to work off1894

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > semblance, outward show > present speciously [verb (transitive)] > conceal real state

dissimulec1374

feigna1393

shroud1412

abuse?a1439

counterfeit1490

cloak1509

dissemblea1535

maska1593

dissimulate1610

disguisea1616

pretext1634

mascherate1654

veil1700

camouflage1917

the world > food and drink > drink > manufacture of alcoholic drink > wine-making > [verb (transitive)] > treat, adulterate, or flavour

abuse1574

trick1594

juniperate1605

parel1615

part1682

pearl1682

manage1686

load1860

liqueur1872

plaster1886

the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > condition or state of being mixed or blended > mix or blend [verb (transitive)] > add as ingredient to a mixture > qualify by admixture > adulterate

adulterc1384

feigna1398

sophisticatec1400

infect?1440

counterfeit1495

adulterate?1526

dash1548

falsify1562

elay1573

abuse1574

base1581

corrupt1581

debase1591

adulterize1593

compass1594

sophisticate1604

allay1634

huckster1642

hucksterize1646

cauponize1652

alloy1661

balderdash1674

impurify1693

doctor1726

vitiate1728

sand1851

dope1898

a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) ix. l. 199 (MED) With litil greyn your chaff ye can abuse.

1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure xviii. 84 O goodd madame! though that they abused Them to theyr ladyes in theyr great deceyte, Yet am I true.

1574 T. Newton tr. G. Gratarolo Direct. Health Magistrates & Studentes sig. Hij Wyne is mingled with Hony, to make it sweete and pleasant. If it be thus abused and mixed, it may be easely knowen.

1609 T. Dekker Ravens Almanacke (STC 6519.2) sig. H3^v Richard the Rope-maker..had abused himselfe to all his wiues.

1697 View Penal Laws 243 None selling Wines in Gross shall abuse or mix any of them with other Ingredients.

1702 Eng. Theophrastus Pref. 4 How miserably that noble author has been abused by his Translators.

1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones VI. xvii. ii. 93 He hath been abused, grossly abused to you.

a. transitive. To misuse the confidence of (someone); to betray (a person's trust, confidence, etc.); to mislead; to cheat, to deceive. Cf. disabuse v. 2 Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > deceive [verb (transitive)]

aschrenchc885

blendc888

swikec950

belirtOE

beswike971

blencha1000

blenka1000

belieOE

becatchc1175

trokec1175

beguile?c1225

biwrench?c1225

guile?c1225

trechec1230

unordainc1300

blink1303

deceivec1320

feintc1330

trechetc1330

misusea1382

blind1382

forgo1382

beglose1393

troil1393

turnc1405

lirt?a1425

abuse?a1439

ludify1447

amuse1480

wilec1480

trump1487

delude?a1505

sile1508

betrumpa1522

blear1530

aveugle1543

mislippen1552

pot1560

disglose1565

oversile1568

blaze1570

blirre1570

bleck1573

overtake1581

fail1590

bafflea1592

blanch1592

geck?a1600

hallucinate1604

hoodwink1610

intrigue1612

guggle1617

nigglea1625

nose-wipe1628

cog1629

cheat1637

flam1637

nurse1639

jilt1660

top1663

chaldese1664

bilk1672

bejuggle1680

nuzzlec1680

snub1694

bite1709

nebus1712

fugle1719

to take in1740

have?1780

quirk1791

rum1812

rattlesnake1818

chicane1835

to suck in1842

mogue1854

blinker1865

to have on1867

mag1869

sleight1876

bumfuzzle1878

swop1890

wool1890

spruce1917

jive1928

shit1934

smokescreen1950

dick1964

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > treat fraudulently, cheat [verb (transitive)]

deceivec1330

defraud1362

falsec1374

abuse?a1439

fraud1563

visure1570

cozen1583

coney-catch1592

to fetch in1592

cheat1597

sell1607

mountebanka1616

dabc1616

nigglea1625

to put it on1625

shuffle1627

cuckold1644

to put a cheat on1649

tonya1652

fourbe1654

imposturea1659

impose1662

slur1664

knap1665

to pass upon (also on)1673

snub1694

ferret1699

nab1706

shool1745

humbug1750

gag1777

gudgeon1787

kid1811

bronze1817

honeyfuggle1829

Yankee1837

middle1863

fuck1866

fake1867

skunk1867

dead-beat1888

gold-brick1893

slicker1897

screw1900

to play it1901

to do in1906

game1907

gaff1934

scalp1939

sucker1939

sheg1943

swizz1961

butt-fuck1979

a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) vi. l. 131 (MED) My play is double, my trust is euer abusid.

c1475 tr. C. de Pisan Livre du Corps de Policie (Cambr.) (1977) 97 (MED) The good prynce..may be abused by suche men as vndir the shadowe of connyng make theimselfe wyse and be not so in dede.

1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde ii. ix. sig. f7 Wherof..the maronners sayllyng by this see ben gretly deceyued and abused.

c1500 Melusine (1895) 311 It is som spyryt, som fantosme or Illusyon that thus hath abused me.

1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour i. 1004 in Wks. (1931) I Rychtso the woman hir excusit, And said: ‘the serpent me abusit.’

?a1610 A. Montgomerie Poems (1887) xviii. 51 Blind love his reson so abvsit.

1649 Bp. J. Taylor Great Exemplar iii. 65 He was abused into the act by a Prophet.

1702 Eng. Theophrastus 248 A Prince that desires by means of his Ambassador to deceive any other Prince, must first abuse his own Ambassador, to the end he should speak with the more earnestness.

1776 J. Wesley Wks. (1830) IV. 39 Many saw how miserably they had been abused by those vulgarly called Gospel Preachers.

1839 Documents Senate N.Y. 1839 III. 35 The community has been abused and deceived, for years, by the constant reiteration of the falsehood, that the Erie and Champlain canals were enriching the State.

1865 ‘M. Harland’ Husbands & Homes xiii. 135 I had forfeited your esteem, abused your confidence, deceived you in every respect.

1916 W. B. Trites Love ix. 147 What I gathered, ere he hurriedly changed the subject, was that Christine had abused, had deceived him.

†b. transitive. In passive. To be deceived, mistaken. to be abused upon or in: to form a mistaken idea of (something), to fall into error about. Also reflexive. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 55 If ye Iuge the disposicion of my body after the colour of my face ye be gretly abused.

1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. ccxxiv. [ccxx.] 703 The Christen men were abused vpon ii. popes..some beleuyng on the one pope, and some vpon the other.

1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. ccxxv. [ccxxi.] 704 [He] had great dout that he was sore abused in those two popes.

1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning i. sig. L2 You are much abused, if you thinke your vertue can withstand the Kings power.

1660 J. Howell Lex. Tetraglotton Dict. (at cited word) Thou dost abuse thyself grossly: Tu t' abuses tout a fait.

a1718 W. Penn Tracts in Wks. (1726) I. 766 That so we may not profane the name of God..nor abuse our selues unto Eternal Perdition.

1775 J. Cartwright Amer. Independence (new ed.) Postscript. 19 The people of Great-Britain, notwithstanding how greatly they are abused in this particular, do feel that they enjoy an actual and virtual representation, such as it is.

1848 Boston Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 24 May 334 Upon this subject the community is grossly abused and deceived.

4. transitive. To inflict a sexual act regarded as illicit or unnatural (such as fornication, incest, sodomy, etc.) on (a person); to assault (esp. a woman or child) sexually; to violate, rape. Also reflexive: to behave in a licentious manner; (in later use) to masturbate.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > loss of chastity > deprive of chastity [verb (transitive)] > assault sexually

abuse1447

rouze1582

touse1624

tousle1839

molest1902

interfere1948

1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) l. 4291 (MED) Wyth comoun wummen þou shalt abusyd be.

?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1872) IV. 365 (MED) Caligula..abusenge his sustres, puttenge theym in to exile after that abusion.

1531 W. Tyndale Answere Mores Dialoge f. xcviij The church permitteth to abuse mens wiues and sofereth sodomitrie.

1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes i. 137 Mencion was made of a boye in moste detestable abomynacion abused.

1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour i. 1236 in Wks. (1931) I Quhow men and wemen schamefullye Abusit thame selfis vnnaturallye.

1611 Bible (King James) Judges xix. 25 And abused her all the night vntil the morning.

1652 G. Winstanley Law of Freedom in Platform i. 24 If any man do force or abuse women in folly, pleading Community, the Laws following do punish such ignorant and unrational practise.

1699 T. D'Urfey Famous Hist. Rise & Fall Massaniello (1700) ii. i. ii. 8 They..are so horribly given to scandal, that they'l abuse all Woman-kind.

1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women I. i. 9 He that abuses you dishonours his mother.

1839 M. Ryan Prostitution in London 305 He cites the case of a young man, who greatly abused himself from the age of fifteen.

1864 G. W. Balfour tr. J. L. Casper Handbk. Pract. Forensic Med. III. 332 One solitary case of a boy alleged to have been abused paederastically.

1886 Northwestern Reporter 26 46 The complainant..made complaint that she had been abused and ravished.

1931 C. Y. Harrison Child is Born 136 Miss Roberts was then taken to a garage on E. 104th St., where, she alleges several other men abused her against her will.

1987 Guardian (Nexis) 22 Oct. The boy alleged he had been abused by his stepfather.

2003 J. R. Lennon Mailman i. vi. 313 He had done it, before—abused himself, that is, loved himself, brought himself off, choked the chicken.

†5. transitive. Scottish. To disuse, give up (something); to neglect. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > unaccustomedness or state of disuse > give up a habit or practice [verb (transitive)]

leaveeOE

forsakec1175

waive1340

twinc1386

refuse1389

to set aside1426

relinquish1454

abuse1471

renouncec1480

disaccustom1483

to break from1530

to lay aside1530

disprofess1590

dropa1616

to set bya1674

decline1679

unpractise?1680

slough1845

shake1872

sluff1934

kick1936

the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > non-use > refrain from using [verb (transitive)] > cease to use

leaveeOE

to lay downa1450

abuse1471

disuse1487

to leave off1570

sink1705

to put down1733

to hang up (one's sword, gun, etc.)1826

1471 in Rec. Parl. Scotl. to 1707 (2007) 1471/5/6 At [= That] the futbal and golf be abusit in tym cummynge, and the buttis maid up and schot usit.

1527 in A. J. Warden Dundee Burgh Laws (1872) 100 We ordaine that article to be abused fra all outmen.

c1540 J. Bellenden tr. H. Boece Hyst. & Cron. Scotl. vii. vi. f. 84^v/2 Thay conuenit in Argile..to lerne thair pepyll the art of cheualry. For thay war mony ȝeris abusit but ony exercition thairof.

a1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) xxxiv. 107 The mull frequentis the anis, And hir awin kynd abusis.

6. transitive. To mistreat (a person or thing); to injure, hurt; to wrong.In quot. c1500: to cast (a person) down, to crush.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > [verb (transitive)] > to person or thing

werdec725

wemc900

forworkOE

evilc1000

teenOE

grievec1230

misdoc1230

mischievec1325

shond1338

endamagec1374

unrighta1393

damagea1400

disvail14..

disavail1429

mischief1437

outrayc1440

prejudice1447

abuse?1473

injuryc1484

danger1488

prejudicate1553

damnify?a1562

wrack1562

inviolate1569

mislestc1573

indemnify1583

qualify1584

interess1587

buse1589

violence1592

injure1597

bane1601

envya1625

prejudiciala1637

founder1655

the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > ill-treatment > ill-treat [verb (transitive)]

tuckc888

tawc893

misbedeOE

graithc1330

to fare fair or foul with1340

misusea1382

outrayc1390

beshrewc1430

huspelc1440

misentreat1450

mistreat1453

abuse?1473

to mayne evil1481

demean1483

to put (a person) to villainya1513

harry1530

mishandle1530

touse1531

misorder1550

worrya1556

yark1565

mumble1588

buse1589

crow-tread1593

disabuse1607

maltreat1681

squeeze1691

ill-treat1794

punish1801

tousle1826

ill-use1841

razoo1890

mess1896

to play horse with1896

to bugger about1921

slug1925

to give (a person) the works1927

to kick about or around1938

mess1963

?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) I. lf. 61 By your propre declaracion I will in no wise abuse yow.

c1500 Three Kings' Sons (1895) 16 The kynges folkes..were so abused that they made but litle prese.

?1548 J. Bale Comedy Thre Lawes Nature 615 Beastes to abuse most monstruouslye.

1556 W. Lauder Compend. Tractate Dewtie of Kyngis sig. B4 And geue thay haue, the floke abusit Ȝe Kyngs sall be, for that accusit.

1611 Bible (King James) 2 Macc. xiv. 42 Chusing rather to die manfully, then to come into the hands of the wicked to be abused otherwise then beseemed his noble birth.

a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Berks. 85 Abusing their servants with too little meat or sleep.

1691 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) II. 315 The duke of Norfolke was abused in the fray at the playhouse.

1715 Abstr. Penal Laws Customs, & Excise 3 Persons so hindring, abusing said Officers and Informers shall be Imprisoned.

1756 E. Burke Vindic. Nat. Society 39 In this kind of government human nature is not only abused and insulted, but it is actually degraded.

1847 Rep. Commissioners Inq. Millbank Prison 114 Did Farraway leave on account of ill-treatment?—He was much ill-used and abused, I believe.

1881 Child's Friend Nov. 174 Now, there's Mr. Peters; he gets drunk and abuses his wife, and papa has to go and take care of him.

1917 L. Carnovale Why Italy entered Great War i. xiii. 61 [He] invaded Tuscany; raided towns, despoiled and abused the populace.

1966 New Statesman 8 Apr. 512/2 Doomed Mr Hamilton is dragged about, manacled to a great cross-piece and generally abused.

1995 B. Bryson Notes from Small Island (1996) xxv. 305 Far too many of the Georgian buildings had been clumsily abused by the addition of modern frontages.

2005 2600 Summer 48/1 People engaging in peaceful demonstrations have been clubbed, pepper sprayed,..and otherwise abused for trying to shape a better world.

7. transitive. To speak insultingly or unkindly of or to (a person); to malign, revile, vilify (a person or thing).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > malediction > [verb (transitive)] > abuse, scold, or wrangle

chidec1230

revilea1393

to call (rarely to speak) (all) to naught1542

vituperate1542

abuse1592

to speak or look daggers1603

outrage1608

cuss1831

slangwhang1880

strafe1915

slag1958

name-call1960

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > invective or abuse > abuse [verb (transitive)]

vilea1300

rebutc1330

revilea1393

arunt1399

stainc1450

brawl1474

vituper1484

rebalk1501

to call (rarely to speak) (all) to naught1542

rattle1542

vituperate1542

bedaub1570

beray1576

bespurt1579

wring1581

misuse1583

caperclaw1589

abuse1592

rail1592

exagitate1593

to shoot atc1595

belabour1596

to scour one's mouth on1598

bespurtle1604

conviciate1604

scandala1616

delitigate1623

betongue1639

bespatter1644

rant1647

palt1648

opprobriatea1657

pelt1658

proscind1659

inveigh1670

clapperclaw1692

blackguard1767

philippize1804

drub1811

foul-mouth1822

bullyrag1823

target1837

barge1841

to light on ——1842

slang1844

villainize1857

slangwhang1880

slam-bang1888

vituperize1894

bad-mouth1941

slag1958

zing1962

to dump on (occasionally all over)1967

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > slander or calumny > slander or calumniate [verb (transitive)]

to say or speak shame of, on, byc950

teleeOE

sayOE

to speak evil (Old English be) ofc1000

belie?c1225

betell?c1225

missayc1225

skandera1300

disclanderc1300

wrenchc1300

bewrayc1330

bite1330

gothele1340

slanderc1340

deprave1362

hinderc1375

backbite1382

blasphemec1386

afamec1390

fame1393

to blow up?a1400

defamea1400

noise1425

to say well (also evil, ill, etc.) of (also by)1445

malignc1450

to speak villainy of1470

infame1483

injury1484

painta1522

malicea1526

denigrate1526

disfamea1533

misreporta1535

sugill?1539

dishonest?c1550

calumniate1554

scandalize1566

ill1577

blaze1579

traduce1581

misspeak1582

blot1583

abuse1592

wronga1596

infamonize1598

vilify1598

injure?a1600

forspeak1601

libel1602

infamize1605

belibel1606

calumnize1606

besquirt1611

colly1615

scandala1616

bedirt1622

soil1641

disfigurea1643

sycophant1642

spatter1645

sugillate1647

bespattera1652

bedung1655

asperse1656

mischieve1656

opprobriatea1657

reflect1661

dehonestate1663

carbonify1792

defamate1810

mouth1810

foul-mouth1822

lynch1836

rot1890

calumny1895

ding1903

bad-talk1938

norate1938

bad-mouth1941

monster1967

1592 Arden of Feversham sig. E^v To let thee know I am no coward, I tel thee, Shakbag, thou abusest me.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) v. i. 125 I am no strumpet, but of life as honest, As you, that thus abuse me.

1680 T. Otway Orphan ii. 17 What have I done? and why do you abuse me?

1739 J. Miller Hosp. for Fools 9 She abuses him in the grossest manner, so that half the Town laugh at him.

1758 D. Garrick Gamesters Prol. These well bred letter-writers..Embrace us, eat our meat, and then—abuse us.

1839 T. Keightley Hist. Eng. II. 52 A preface in which the Pope was abused in the most virulent terms.

1883 W. Black Shandon Bells xxx We could not have one of our own reviewers abused in our own reviewing columns.

1911 H. S. Harrison Queed iv. 42 West..abused himself for a shiftless lackwit.

1949 ‘G. Orwell’ Nineteen Eighty-four i. i. 16 He was abusing Big Brother, he was denouncing the dictatorship of the Party.

1973 V. Teresa & T. C. Renner My Life in Mafia ii. 15 They were abused and cursed,..pilloried and insulted in this new land of freedom.

2009 I. Thomson Dead Yard xi. 132 Jamaican men, possibly because they associated his love of plants with an effeminate nature, abused him.

8. intransitive. To subject a person (esp. a woman or child) to physical, sexual, or emotional abuse.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > ill-treatment > ill-treat [verb (intransitive)]

tucka1250

to do villainy or a villainy1303

abuse1978

the mind > emotion > fear > quality of inspiring fear > quality of being intimidating > intimidate or bully [verb (intransitive)]

bully1733

browbeat1812

abuse1978

1978 R. S. Kempe & C. H. Kempe Child Abuse v. 79 Since the abused grow up to abuse, the intervention and treatment we offer serve not only to protect children now: they help to break the chain that binds future generations.

1981 K. C. Faller Social Work with Abused & Neglected Children 9 This survey indicates that mothers are more likely to abuse than fathers.

1996 J. D. McNeil in L. N. June & M. Parker Men to Men x. 170 Most men who abuse suffer from a deep sense of depression, shame, and inadequacy. Their abusive rages are often stimulated by..their unconscious feeling of needing to control a spouse.

1998 Community Care 7 May 7/3 A report has praised the probation service's work with sex offenders but laments the fact that it is failing adolescents who abuse.

2008 C. Gibson & V. M. Vandiver Juvenile Sex Offenders v. 127 Not enough research exists to fully answer the question of whether juvenile girls who sexually offend continue to abuse.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	abuse
释义	abusen. Brit. /əˈbjuːs/, U.S. /əˈbjus/ Forms: Middle English– abuse, 1600s abusse; Scottish pre-1700 abbus, pre-1700 abose, pre-1700 abusse, pre-1700 pre-1700– abuse, pre-1700 1900s– abuise. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French abus; Latin abūsus. Etymology: < Middle French abus, abbus (French abus ; also in Anglo-Norman as abuse (rare)) excessive exercise of power (1348), misuse, excessive use (1370), error (a1403), excess, disorder (1445), deceit (c1450), bad practice or custom that has become established (1451) and its etymon classical Latin abūsus misuse, wasting, in post-classical Latin also sexual abuse, violation (12th cent. in a British source), malpractice (from 13th cent. in British sources) < abūs- , past participial stem of abūtī abuse v. + -tus , suffix forming verbal nouns. Compare Old Occitan abus (1471), Catalan abús (14th cent.), Spanish abuso (1490), Portuguese abuso (1564), Italian abuso (c1565). Compare abuse v., and earlier abusion n. 1. Improper usage; a corrupt practice or custom; esp. one that has become chronic. ΚΠ 1439–40 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. Nov. 1439 §17. m. 14 The harmes, that..hath ben doon unto hem, by grete abuse of the purveours of his householde. 1483 W. Caxton tr. A. Chartier Curial sig. ij The abuses of the courte..ben suche that a man is neuer suffred tenhaunce hym self. 1536 T. Cromwell Let. 8 June in R. B. Merriman Life & Lett. T. Cromwell (1902) II. 14 Thextirpacion abolicion and extinguishment of suche abuses errours and enormyties. ?1542 H. Brinkelow Complaynt Roderyck Mors i. sig. A6 Such abuses as are to be reformed in the realme. 1649 in J. D. Marwick Rec. Convent. Royal Burghs Scotl. (1878) III. 348 Abusses and dissorderris. 1699 Dr. Tanner in S. Pepys Diary (1879) VI. 186 Some letters about the abuses of Christ's Hospital. 1709 J. Swift Project Advancem. Relig. 61 The Nature of Things is such, that if Abuses be not remedied, they will certainly encrease. 1780 E. Burke Speech Oeconomical Reformation 13 There is a time, when the hoary head of inveterate abuse will neither draw reverence, nor obtain protection. 1808 J. Bentham Sc. Reform 2 The abuses, with which the regular system of procedure is spotted. 1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 121 It seemed perfectly natural that he should defend abuses by which he profited. 1910 J. Evers Baseball in Big Leagues iii. 50 The principal abuses of the system have been by major leagues taking players from lower class leagues. 1957 M. C. Wright Last Stand of Chinese Conservatism 168 What was necessary was an effort to check the worst abuses. 1995 Sun (Baltimore) 8 Aug. a1/6 Financial abuses at Madison were amongst the worst he had seen. 2008 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 6 Nov. 46/1 James Galbraith has likewise placed..the systematic abuse of public institutions for private profit..at the center of his proposed substitute. 2. a. Wrong or improper use (of something), misuse; misapplication; perversion. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > misuse > [noun] abusion?1387 misusing1395 misusea1398 abusingc1450 abuse?1473 misordering1526 abusage1548 misusage1567 misemployment1597 missaw1614 misimprovement1644 abusivenessa1677 misemploying1686 violation1795 ?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) I. lf. 21 Hyt were abuse and folye for to speke therof for this present tyme ony more. 1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 59 It is a grete abuse to me for to thinke & haue a renouelement of payne. ?1548 J. Bale Comedy Thre Lawes Nature ii. sig. C^v These two wyll hym so vse, Ich one in their abuse. 1596 W. Warner Albions Eng. (rev. ed.) ix. lii. 238 Yeat things, that of themselues be good, abuse brings out of square. 1640 Englands Complaint to Iesus Christ sig. G There are great grievances..: reading of Apocrypha Books, abuse of Excommunication. 1698 J. Collier Short View Immorality Eng. Stage i. 5 The abuse of a thing is no argument against the use of it. 1702 C. Brent Ess. Nature Guilt & Lying i. 16 They [sc. figurative expressions] are so far from being a lying abuse of Speech, that plain Speaking would not answer all the ends of it without them. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters i. 29 I have observed the same from the abuse of Spa water. 1843 J. S. Mill Syst. Logic I. i. ii. §4. 35 Imitating him in this abuse of language. 1862 Ld. Brougham Brit. Constit. (ed. 3) i. 18 It would be a great abuse of terms to call the Venetian a Mixed Aristocracy. 1875 H. E. Manning Internal Mission of Holy Ghost v. 130 Self-love..is the abuse and perversion of that love of self which is a divine law. 1933 Times 29 Dec. 16/2 The letter..concluded with some pertinent observations on the use and abuse of paper money. 1985 Times 11 Feb. 9/7 The Government would issue directives to stop what he called the abuse of national resources. 1997 G. Carlin Brain Droppings 169 I object to the abuse of the word tragedy. Every time some asshole stops breathing these days it's called a tragedy. †b. Rhetoric. Improper use of words, catachresis. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > inaccuracy, inexactness > incorrectness of language > [noun] > incorrect application of words abusion1538 abuse1589 catachresis1589 miswording1804 1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xvi. 150 Catachresis, or the Figure of abuse..if for lacke of naturall and proper terme or worde we take another, neither naturall nor proper and do vntruly applie it to the thing which we would seeme to expresse. 1613 T. Fitzherbert Adioynder to Suppl. R. Persons Discuss. ix. 376 There is no other Catachresis (I meane no other abuse) in all this matter. 1681 T. Delaune & B. Keach Τροπολογία i. 196 Catachresis, is called in Latin Abusio, an abuse,..because the things that are Catachrestical, differ in some things from the Custom of speaking Tropically. a1716 R. South Serm. Several Occasions (1744) XI. 93 The acception of the word amongst the Greeks and Latines..is through abuse and degeneration. 1784 in tr. F. Rabelais Wks. II. iii. xvii. 302 'Tis spoken, I suppose, by Way of Abuse..as the Latins sometimes call a Swimming-place..by the Name of a Fish-pond. c. spec. The non-therapeutic or excessive use of a drug; the misuse of any substance, esp. for its stimulant effects. Frequently with distinguishing word.drug, solvent abuse: see the first element. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [noun] overdrinkeOE drinkingc1200 excessc1386 bibbinga1400 bollingc1540 boozingc1540 bousingc1540 swillingc1563 tippling1567 carousing1582 swinking1590 bezzling1598 swill1602 swink1611 overdrinking1616 popination1623 sottishness1648 fuddling1665 toping1668 bibbership1670 abuse1732 dram-drinking1772 dramminga1790 potation1808 spree1811 muzzling1828 bibbery1831 Bacchanalianism1855 Bacchanalism1858 smiling1858 bibulation1882 tanking1891 reeler1950 1732 R. Gwinnett et al. Pylades & Corinna II. xxiii. 94 That Law, which to prevent Drunkenness, and the Abuse of Wine, ordered all Vineyards to be destroyed. 1787 J. Wesley Let. 11 Dec. (1931) VIII. 26 Distilled liquors have their use, but are infinitely overbalanced by the abuse of them. 1856 C. J. Hempel tr. G. H. G. Jahr Homeopathic Treatm. Dis. Females 126 In many cases metrorrhagia is induced by a stimulating diet, abuse of spirits, coffee, drugs. 1885 Dr. Ranney in Harper's Mag. Mar. 641/2 The abuse of stimulants, in the form of alcohol, tobacco, tea, and coffee. 1922 W. H. Ukers All about Coffee xxviii. 437 Too much [caffein] could be ingested from abuse of any beverage containing it. 1961 Drug Addiction (Rep. Interdepartmental Comm., Min. Health & Dept. of Health, Scotl.) 15 The abuse of stimulant drugs such as the amphetamines and phenmetrazine has led to some publicity and concern. 1962 Times 7 May 11/7 Cannabis abuse is very likely to be the forerunner of addiction to more dangerous addicting drugs. 1984 Sunday Times 9 Dec. 3/6 This is a setback for the campaign against increasing heroin abuse among the young. 2009 N.Y. Times 5 May d7/1 Typical high-functioning alcoholics..are in denial about their abuse of alcohol. d. abuse of notation n. Mathematics a use of notation which, although formally incorrect, is considered convenient or intuitive while being unlikely to cause errors or confusion. ΚΠ 1953 Ann. Math. 58 85 By abuse of notation, a chain in any complex A(Π, n) can thus be regarded as one in A(Π, n + 1) or in A(Π, n + 2),..without change of notation. 1973 I. Stewart Galois Theory 5 This abuse of notation will cause no confusion as long as it is understood that n may be zero in the field without being zero as an integer. 2008 J. C. Garrison & R. Y. Chiao Quantum Optics iv. 126 The initial condition V(t₀) = 1 really should be V(t₀) = I_QED.., but alert readers will suffer no harm from this slight abuse of notation. †3. The process of using up or wearing out. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > using up, expending, or consuming > [noun] spendinga1430 use1440 consumptionc1522 abuse1539 spensec1547 abusinga1555 waste1569 expense1593 dispendium1648 expenditure1812 using-up1863 1539 Bible (Great) Col. ii. 22 Touch not, tast not, handell not: whych all peryeshe thorow the very abuse [ Wyclif vse. Tindale & 1611 vsinge]. †4. Imposture, deceit; delusion; an instance of this. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > [noun] > a trick, deception wrenchc888 swikec893 braida1000 craftOE wile1154 crookc1175 trokingc1175 guile?c1225 hocket1276 blink1303 errorc1320 guileryc1330 sleightc1340 knackc1369 deceitc1380 japec1380 gaudc1386 syllogism1387 mazec1390 mowa1393 train?a1400 trantc1400 abusionc1405 creekc1405 trickc1412 trayc1430 lirtc1440 quaint?a1450 touch1481 pawka1522 false point?1528 practice1533 crink1534 flim-flamc1538 bobc1540 fetcha1547 abuse1551 block1553 wrinklec1555 far-fetch?a1562 blirre1570 slampant1577 ruse1581 forgery1582 crank1588 plait1589 crossbite1591 cozenage1592 lock1598 quiblin1605 foist1607 junt1608 firk1611 overreach?1615 fob1622 ludification1623 knick-knacka1625 flam1632 dodge1638 gimcrack1639 fourbe1654 juggle1664 strategy1672 jilt1683 disingenuity1691 fun1699 jugglementa1708 spring1753 shavie1767 rig?1775 deception1794 Yorkshire bite1795 fakement1811 fake1829 practical1833 deceptivity1843 tread-behind1844 fly1861 schlenter1864 Sinonism1864 racket1869 have1885 ficelle1890 wheeze1903 fast one1912 roughie1914 spun-yarn trick1916 fastie1931 phoney baloney1933 fake-out1955 okey-doke1964 mind-fuck1971 1551 S. Gardiner Explic. Catholique Fayth f. 86^v All this were vayne eloquence, and a mere abuse and illusion, if the Sacramentall tokens were only a figure. 1555 W. Waterman tr. J. Boemus Fardle of Facions Pref. 15 Some he [sc. the deuell] reuersed into their former abuses and errours. 1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iv. vii. 49 Or is it some abuse, and no such thing? View more context for this quotation 1653 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais 1st Bk. Wks. xlv. 201 Do the false Prophets teach you such abuses? 1717 T. Lewis Scourge 18 Nov. 354 The People love to be deceiv'd, and place their Abuses among their Blessings, and their Guides glory in the Cheat. 5. Contemptuous or insulting language; reviling, scurrility. Formerly also: a verbal insult. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > [noun] > abusive language teleeOE conteckc1380 contumelyc1386 flitec1400 abuse1559 doggery?1577 vinegar-railing1609 Billingsgate1676 slangwhang1834 tongue-plague1853 the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > invective or abuse > [noun] balec1220 ordurec1390 revile1439 brawlingc1440 railing1466 opprobry?a1475 revilingc1475 vituperation1481 vituper1484 vitupery1489 convicy1526 abusion?1530 blasphemation1533 pelta1540 oblatration?1552 words of mischief1555 abuse1559 inveighing1568 invection1590 revilement1590 invective1602 opprobration1623 invecture1633 thunder and lightning1638 raillery1669 rattlinga1677 blackguarding1742 pillory1770 slang1805 slangwhanging1809 bullyragging1820 slanging1856 bespattering1862 bespatterment1870 bad-mouthing1939 bad mouth1947 slagging1956 flak1968 verbal1970 handbagging1987 pelters1992 the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > slander or calumny > [noun] teleeOE folk-leasinga1000 tolec1000 wrayingc1000 missaw?c1225 slanderc1290 disclanderc1300 famationc1325 noisec1325 skander1338 missaying1340 misspeecha1375 slanderingc1380 biting1382 defaminga1400 filtha1400 missaya1400 obloquya1438 oblocution?a1439 juroryc1440 defamationa1450 defamea1450 forspeaking1483 depravinga1500 defamya1513 injury?1518 depravation1526 maledictiona1530 abusion?1530 blasphemation1533 infamation1533 insectationa1535 calumning1541 calumniation?1549 abuse1559 calumnying1563 calumny1564 belying?1565 illingc1575 scandalizing1575 misparlance?1577 blot1587 libelling1587 scandal1596 traducement1597 injurying1604 deprave1610 vilifying1611 noisec1613 disfame1620 sycophancy1622 aspersion1633 disreport1640 medisance1648 bollocking1653 vilification1653 sugillation1654 blasphemya1656 traduction1656 calumniating1660 blaspheming1677 aspersing1702 blowing1710 infamizing1827 malignation1836 mud-slinging1858 mud-throwing1864 denigration1868 mud-flinging1876 dénigrement1883 malignment1885 injurious falsehood1907 mud-sling1919 bad-mouthing1939 bad mouth1947 trash-talking1974 1559 W. Baldwin et al. Myrroure for Magistrates i. 4 Blowen up the blast of all abuse. a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) v. i. 340 Harke how the villaine would close now, after his treasonable abuses . View more context for this quotation 1687 E. Settle Refl. Dryden's Plays Pref. sig. A2^v 'Tis a Language that his Vnimitable Impudence more than..his Abuses on the Author have extorted from me. 1759 W. H. Dilworth Life of Pope 77 Mr. Pope bore for a long time the gross abuses thrown out by his adversaries. a1780 J. Harris Philol. Inq. (1781) iii. xv. 523 For every past age, when present, has been the object of abuse. 1807 Edinb. Rev. 10 115 Unlimited abuse of private characters is another characteristic of the American press. a1859 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. (1861) V. xxiv. 128 The two parties, after exchanging a good deal of abuse, came to blows. 1898 Argosy Oct. 481 Fleetwood began a string of abuse. 1926 W. Lewis Art of being Ruled v. i. 138 The tone of studied contempt on the one hand, or despairing abuse on the other..is unmerited probably. 1969 W. H. Auden City without Walls 28 Out you would storm, arms whirling, screaming abuse. 2002 Loaded July 39/1 As a term of abuse, the word ‘bastard’ dates back to Elizabethan times. 6. a. Sexual violation, esp. rape; sexual assault or maltreatment (esp. of a woman or child). Cf. self-abuse n. 3.In later use frequently including also physical or emotional ill-treatment (cf. sense 6b). ΘΚΠ society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > loss of chastity > [noun] > defilement of chastity or woman > forcible forcinga1382 oppressionc1395 rapec1425 ravishment1436 rapt1449 violation?1506 violating1523 stuprationa1525 abuse1585 raping?1585 constupration1611 rapture?1615 gang-banging1949 1585 A. Golding tr. P. Mela Worke of Cosmographer i. viii. 15 Women, the first night they are married, shall abandon themselues to the common abuse of all men. a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) ii. xviii. sig. Bb1 Was it not inough for him, to haue deceiued me, & through the deceipt abused me, & after the abuse forsaken me? 1630 P. Massinger Picture v. i. 396 Were all that study the abuse of women Us'd thus, the city would not swarm with cuckolds. a1634 E. Coke 3rd Pt. Inst. Laws Eng. (1644) xi. 60 Rape is felony by the Common law, declared by Parliament for the unlawfull and carnall knowledge and abuse of any woman above the age of ten years against her will. 1766 Spectator No. 533 271 Why should not every contributor to the abuse of chastity suffer death? 1795 J. Macknight New Literal Transl. Apostolical Epist. I. 479 The wretches who suffered this abuse [sc. sodomy] were..called Pathics. 1834 J. Forbes et al. Cycl. Pract. Med. III. 589 By the same act the crime of rape, or of the abuse and carnal knowledge of a girl under ten years of age, is punishable by death. 1860 Law Times 8 Dec. iii. 412 The word abuse is manifestly used as different from the word rape: it may include rape no doubt, or it may not. 1925 K. Mayo Isles of Fear xviii. 204 There are some things that we cannot condone if we accept any commitment from our own Christianity. One of these is the abuse of children. The youngest victim of rape..was three weeks old. 1979 M. Roodkowsky in S. T. Bruyn & P. M. Rayman Nonviolent Action & Social Change iv. xii. 255 Soldiers' abuse of women ranks along with looting, burning and bombing as a means of subduing the enemy. 2010 Tablet 27 Mar. 6/1 I have been deeply disturbed by the information which has come to light regarding the abuse of children and vulnerable young people. b. Physical or mental maltreatment; the inflicting of physical or emotional harm or damage.Recorded earliest in self-abuse n. 2a. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > ill-treatment > [noun] > amounting to cruelty abuse1653 abusiveness1905 1653 E. Waterhouse Two Brief Medit. 58 No man hath any warrant for self-abuse: We are not nostri, sed alieni juris; and God will see we shall not destroy his work besides his will. 1698 (title) Lex forcia: being a sensible address to the Parliament for an act to remedy the foul abuse of children at schools. 1791 W. Taplin Gentleman's Stable Directory II. 143 The constant ill usage and violent abuse of horses. 1877 Proc. Trial Joel B. Erhardt et al. 217 More than seven-eighths of the crimes involving personal violence, homicides,..assaults and batteries, the abuse of families and children..may be traced to the use of intoxicating liquors. 1893 Medico-Legal Jrnl. (N.Y.) 10 377 Cruelty signifies abuse, and the law is to be construed in its application, to prevent the abuse of children. 1930 Timber Growing & Logging & Turpentining Pract. in Southern Pine Region (U.S. Dept. Agric. Techn. Bull. No. 204) 105 One obstacle to reforestation..is the condition of these tracts.., as a result of abuse... Most of them have been culled from time to time, until the present stand is only a remnant of the original forest. 1971 Jrnl. Marriage & Family 33 649/2 Emotional abuse or neglect essentially are forms of parental behavior which while not directly damaging to a child physically are considered to be injurious to his emotional and mental health. 1985 J. J. Costa (title) Abuse of the elderly: a guide to resources and services. 2000 Sunday News (Dar-es-Salaam) 26 Mar. 5/2 Zoo Check, a pressure group campaigning against the abuse of animals in the name of entertainment. †7. Injury, wrong; insult; ill-usage. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > harm or injury > [noun] loathc900 teenOE ungrithlOE wemming1100 waningc1175 wrongc1275 prejudicec1300 derea1325 torferc1325 eviltyc1330 griefc1330 wem1338 injurec1374 truitc1390 noyinga1398 inconvenience14.. nocument?a1425 outraya1425 injuryc1430 mischieving1432 supprise1442 incommodityc1450 interess1489 grudge1491 tort1532 wreaka1542 impeachment1548 inconveniency1553 indemnity1556 interestc1575 abuse1595 mischievance1600 oblesion1656 grit1876 the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > ill-treatment > [noun] mishandlinga1393 deraya1400 villainya1400 outraya1425 mistreating1453 mispersoning1522 misentreating1531 misusing1548 misusage1555 misuse1591 abuse1595 hard measure1611 ill usage1621 evil-usage1645 ill-treatment1667 maltreatment1702 mistreatment1716 punishment1811 1595 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 iii. iii. 188 Did I let passe the abuse done to my neece? a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) v. iii. 7 My husband will not reioyce so much at the abuse of Falstaffe, as he will chafe at the Doctors marrying my daughter. View more context for this quotation 1682 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) I. 224 Lieutenant Colonel Quiney..offered an abuse to Sir John Lawrence by pulling him down off the hustings. 1704 W. Alexander Short Surv. Lineal Descent Sovereign Princes i. ii. 40 He [sc. Edward III]..to revenge the abuse done him in France, enters Normandy. 1784 Anc. & Present State Youghall iii. 91 I had sundry Papers..which might discover a great deal of wrong and abuse done to the Queen. Phrases abuse of process n. Law the improper use of a legal process for a purpose other than that intended by the law; a tort (tort n. 2) where damage is caused by such use. ΚΠ 1785 C. Lofft Ess. Law of Libels 78 He then enumerates the cases in which this power has been exerted against..attornies for mal-practices of various sorts in abuse of process. 1822 Ann. Law Reg. U.S. 4 1218/1 If there is fraud or irregularity in the sale, the court out of which the writ issued..would, in a summary manner, inquire into it on a rule to show cause, notice or other proper proceeding, and relieve, by setting aside the sale, on the ground of abuse of process, misconduct or irregularity of the officer or the party. 1925 Yale Law Jrnl. 34 309 A judgment was rendered against a City Magistrate for malicious prosecution and abuse of process. 2009 Private Eye 27 Nov. 9/3 Judge after judge described the charges as an abuse of process. Compounds (Chiefly in sense 6.) C1. General attributive, as abuse problem, abuse scandal, etc. ΚΠ 1919 C. L. Brown Municipal Court & Home: Addr. to Forum of Y.M.C.A., Apr. 27, at Philadelphia 5 To us, in our Court, may come oftener problems of intemperance or abuse problems.., but, on the whole, we get the same personal and temperamental problems as appear in homes anywhere. 1923 Electric Railway Jrnl. 23 June 1043/1 The abuse factor also contributes largely to the growth. The engineer states that the looseness of the present system, combined with the lack of systematic checking, has invited and encouraged abuse. 1968 J. H. Jaffe in D. H. Efron Psychopharmacol. viii. 854/1 Nalorphine has virtually no abuse potential; its subjective effects are not ‘liked’ by post-addicts. 1989 T. S. Trepper & M. J. Barett Systemic Treatm. Incest 5 Therapists..who were abused..may want to be abuse therapists to resolve their own family experience. 1995 J. Healy Rescue (1996) 230 ‘You don't have some kind of Domestic Violence unit here?’ ‘We do. Got an Abuse Hotline down on Key West, though that's mostly for children and the elderly.’ 2010 Guardian (Nexis) 19 Mar. 34 The suppression of truth at the heart of the abuse scandal will bewilder the Catholic faithful. C2. abuse allegation n. ΚΠ 1958 Ironwood (Mich.) Daily Globe 29 Mar. 1/2 (heading) Other FCC commissioners face abuse allegations. 2010 J. F. Gainsborough Scandalous Politics v. 114 The resulting state investigation faulted the..agencies for not following procedures in previous abuse allegation investigations involving the family. abuse case n. ΚΠ 1891 Daily Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 13 Oct. 2/5 After some unimportant abuse cases were disposed of the Court adjourned. 2002 N.Y. Times 7 Apr. 12/6 The cardinal has adopted..a new..approach to the church crisis..harshly criticizing a church lawyer for dragging her feet in telling the police of three abuse cases. abuse charge n. ΚΠ 1904 Lima (Ohio) Times Democrat 31 Dec. Abuse charges that could not, be substantiated against wife and daughter, and finally abandonment led to the granting of a divorce to the plaintiff. 2006 R. M. Thomas Violence in America's Schools v. 102 Even when a person is exonerated of an abuse charge, the publicity that accompanied the event..can linger on. abuse counselling n. ΚΠ 1988 M. D. Pellauer et al. Sexual Assault xi. 120 Some abuse counseling will ask more of us as counselors than we can give. 2009 H. Cefrey Domest. Violence ii. 27 If an abuser desires to be reunited with his or her family, the courts may require him or her to undergo abuse counseling or an intervention program. abuse counsellor n. ΚΠ 1984 Winnipeg Free Press 24 Feb. 2/1 The relationship between the principal characters in Gone With the Wind underlines the way in which society condones deviant behavior, an abuse counsellor told a conference on family violence. 2010 Sunday Life (Belfast) (Nexis) 11 July 36 Suggest that your husband speaks to an abuse counsellor. abuse victim n. ΚΠ 1927 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald 19 Apr. 5/6 (heading) 2 boys, alleged abuse victims, get good homes. 2002 Washington Post 1 Dec. (Home ed.) (Mag.) 32/1 He suffers from dissociative disorder, a common reaction of abuse victims who block out memories in order to survive. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2022). abusev. Brit. /əˈbjuːz/, U.S. /əˈbjuz/ Forms: late Middle English– abuse, 1500s abbuse; Scottish pre-1700 abeise, pre-1700 abose, pre-1700 aboys, pre-1700 abusse, pre-1700 abvse, pre-1700 abwse, pre-1700 1700s– abuse, 1800s abase, 1900s– abaise, 1900s– abeese, 1900s– abuize. See also buse v. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French abuser. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman and Middle French abuser (French abuser ) to deceive (c1270 in Old French), to misuse, put to wrong use (1312), to make a mistake, be mistaken (c1340), probably < an unattested post-classical Latin form abusare < classical Latin abūsus* , past participle of abūti to use up, to squander, waste, to make full use of, utilize, to take advantage of, exploit, to put to wrong use, to misinterpret, misrepresent, to misuse (language), in post-classical Latin also to violate, to maltreat or injure (Vulgate), not to use (5th cent.) < ab- ab- prefix + ūti use v. Compare Old Occitan abusar (1455), Catalan abusar (1450), Spanish abusar (14th cent.), Portuguese abusar (1533), Italian abusare (1581). Compare abuse n., and earlier abusion n. 1. a. transitive. To use (something) improperly, to misuse; to make a bad use of; to pervert; to take advantage of wrongly. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > misuse > [verb (transitive)] misnote?c1225 disusec1380 misusea1382 abusec1430 misbehave?1529 misemploy1609 misdemeana1625 misimprove1648 c1430 Acts Parl. Scotl. (1844) I. 333/2 At thai aboysis thar seruice. a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) 23631 The good that god hath sent by hir thei ben wrongly dispent, And ageyn his wul abused. 1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1901) I. ii. xix. 202 The romanis..abusit al þare pussance with civil contentiouns. 1550 in Acts Privy Council (1891) III. 170 It was convenyent to take downe the aultars as thinges abused. 1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 38^v How wantonly, yea, and howe willingly haue wee abused our golden time. 1611 Bible (King James) 1 Cor. ix. 18 Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel. View more context for this quotation 1664 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders (new ed.) i. sig. c3 With more I shall not presume to abuse your Lordships Patience. 1708 Acct. Remarkable Passages Life Private Gentleman iii. 290 Many are Sick and Weak, and others fall asleep for abusing it [sc. God's mercy]. 1771 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) II. lxi. 283 The liberty of the press may be abused. 1817 W. Scott Rob Roy I. i. 6 I dare not promise that I may not abuse the opportunity so temptingly offered me. 1828 Blackwood's Mag. June 933/2 These laws are abused upon assumptions which are obviously false and impossible. 1876 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest II. x. 503 Restoring his brother to the authority which he had so abused. 1916 A. A. Brill tr. S. Freud Wit & its Relation to Unconsc. vi. 250 ‘Wish fulfilment’—a term easily remembered and easily abused. 1970 C. Ojeda & J. Castro tr. A. A. Marche Luzon & Palawan viii. 122 Many have abused the hospitality of residents, and the Filipinos have become cautious. 1998 Daily Tel. 4 Sept. 18/3 Even if it is decided that Mr Clinton has abused his office, Congress members may not want to get rid of him. †b. intransitive. To behave improperly. Obsolete. rare. ΚΠ ?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 65 (MED) Whow durste þou a-monge fruteful presume and Abuse. †c. transitive. To use (something) in error, to mistake for (another thing). Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > take wrongly, mistake [verb (transitive)] > do wrongly misworkc1300 mistakea1382 abuse1548 1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. C.viij^v One is gardine Rokket, whiche is muche greater then the other, & it hath a white leafe, some abuse thys for whyte mustarde. 1551 W. Turner Herball (1568) i. 41 Some have abused long smallage for persely, wherein they have been deceived. d. transitive. To use (alcohol, etc.) excessively; to use (a drug) without medical justification. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > take drugs [verb (transitive)] abuse1901 drop1966 do1969 misuse1970 1831 S. Nott Temperance & Relig. ii. 19 The more wealthy members of society, only, have been able to abuse wine. 1854 Littell's Living Age 29 July 213 Young men who have led an irregular life, who have abused wine at the inns. 1901 Pharmaceut. Jrnl 19 Jan. p. b/2 In his opinion opium was a necessity, a luxury, and a stimulant, and the percentage of those who abused opium was so small as not to be noticeable. 1960 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 10 Dec. 241/1 Dr. Lawlor said he found it impossible to find anyone who could swear that he was not abusing drugs. 1972 E. H. Ellinwood in E. H. Ellinwood & S. Cohen Current Concepts on Amphetamine Abuse xiv. 146/1 The greatest increase in libido was often noted in women..who had been relatively frigid prior to abusing amphetamines. 2002 Time 11 Feb. 67/1 Xanax..ranks low on the scale of drugs most likely to be abused. †2. transitive. To misrepresent (a person or thing); to adulterate; to falsify. reflexive. To show oneself in false colours, to make false pretensions. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > behaviour > affected behaviour or affectation > act affectedly [verb (reflexive)] abuse?a1439 plume1637 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > misrepresentation > misrepresent [verb (transitive)] disguise1398 colourc1400 abuse?a1439 wrest1524 beliec1531 to spell (one) backward1600 misuse1609 bowa1616 falsify1630 misrepresent1633 traduce1643 garble1659 miscolour1661 misrender1674 travesty1825 misdescribe1827 skew1872 misportray1925 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > pretend, dissemble [verb (reflexive)] feign1297 abuse?a1439 counterfeit1610 personate1710 to pass off1770 to hold out1829 to work off1894 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > semblance, outward show > present speciously [verb (transitive)] > conceal real state dissimulec1374 feigna1393 shroud1412 abuse?a1439 counterfeit1490 cloak1509 dissemblea1535 maska1593 dissimulate1610 disguisea1616 pretext1634 mascherate1654 veil1700 camouflage1917 the world > food and drink > drink > manufacture of alcoholic drink > wine-making > [verb (transitive)] > treat, adulterate, or flavour abuse1574 trick1594 juniperate1605 parel1615 part1682 pearl1682 manage1686 load1860 liqueur1872 plaster1886 the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > condition or state of being mixed or blended > mix or blend [verb (transitive)] > add as ingredient to a mixture > qualify by admixture > adulterate adulterc1384 feigna1398 sophisticatec1400 infect?1440 counterfeit1495 adulterate?1526 dash1548 falsify1562 elay1573 abuse1574 base1581 corrupt1581 debase1591 adulterize1593 compass1594 sophisticate1604 allay1634 huckster1642 hucksterize1646 cauponize1652 alloy1661 balderdash1674 impurify1693 doctor1726 vitiate1728 sand1851 dope1898 a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) ix. l. 199 (MED) With litil greyn your chaff ye can abuse. 1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure xviii. 84 O goodd madame! though that they abused Them to theyr ladyes in theyr great deceyte, Yet am I true. 1574 T. Newton tr. G. Gratarolo Direct. Health Magistrates & Studentes sig. Hij Wyne is mingled with Hony, to make it sweete and pleasant. If it be thus abused and mixed, it may be easely knowen. 1609 T. Dekker Ravens Almanacke (STC 6519.2) sig. H3^v Richard the Rope-maker..had abused himselfe to all his wiues. 1697 View Penal Laws 243 None selling Wines in Gross shall abuse or mix any of them with other Ingredients. 1702 Eng. Theophrastus Pref. 4 How miserably that noble author has been abused by his Translators. 1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones VI. xvii. ii. 93 He hath been abused, grossly abused to you. View more context for this quotation 3. a. transitive. To misuse the confidence of (someone); to betray (a person's trust, confidence, etc.); to mislead; to cheat, to deceive. Cf. disabuse v. 2 Now rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > deceive [verb (transitive)] aschrenchc885 blendc888 swikec950 belirtOE beswike971 blencha1000 blenka1000 belieOE becatchc1175 trokec1175 beguile?c1225 biwrench?c1225 guile?c1225 trechec1230 unordainc1300 blink1303 deceivec1320 feintc1330 trechetc1330 misusea1382 blind1382 forgo1382 beglose1393 troil1393 turnc1405 lirt?a1425 abuse?a1439 ludify1447 amuse1480 wilec1480 trump1487 delude?a1505 sile1508 betrumpa1522 blear1530 aveugle1543 mislippen1552 pot1560 disglose1565 oversile1568 blaze1570 blirre1570 bleck1573 overtake1581 fail1590 bafflea1592 blanch1592 geck?a1600 hallucinate1604 hoodwink1610 intrigue1612 guggle1617 nigglea1625 nose-wipe1628 cog1629 cheat1637 flam1637 nurse1639 jilt1660 top1663 chaldese1664 bilk1672 bejuggle1680 nuzzlec1680 snub1694 bite1709 nebus1712 fugle1719 to take in1740 have?1780 quirk1791 rum1812 rattlesnake1818 chicane1835 to suck in1842 mogue1854 blinker1865 to have on1867 mag1869 sleight1876 bumfuzzle1878 swop1890 wool1890 spruce1917 jive1928 shit1934 smokescreen1950 dick1964 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > treat fraudulently, cheat [verb (transitive)] deceivec1330 defraud1362 falsec1374 abuse?a1439 fraud1563 visure1570 cozen1583 coney-catch1592 to fetch in1592 cheat1597 sell1607 mountebanka1616 dabc1616 nigglea1625 to put it on1625 shuffle1627 cuckold1644 to put a cheat on1649 tonya1652 fourbe1654 imposturea1659 impose1662 slur1664 knap1665 to pass upon (also on)1673 snub1694 ferret1699 nab1706 shool1745 humbug1750 gag1777 gudgeon1787 kid1811 bronze1817 honeyfuggle1829 Yankee1837 middle1863 fuck1866 fake1867 skunk1867 dead-beat1888 gold-brick1893 slicker1897 screw1900 to play it1901 to do in1906 game1907 gaff1934 scalp1939 sucker1939 sheg1943 swizz1961 butt-fuck1979 a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) vi. l. 131 (MED) My play is double, my trust is euer abusid. c1475 tr. C. de Pisan Livre du Corps de Policie (Cambr.) (1977) 97 (MED) The good prynce..may be abused by suche men as vndir the shadowe of connyng make theimselfe wyse and be not so in dede. 1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde ii. ix. sig. f7 Wherof..the maronners sayllyng by this see ben gretly deceyued and abused. c1500 Melusine (1895) 311 It is som spyryt, som fantosme or Illusyon that thus hath abused me. 1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour i. 1004 in Wks. (1931) I Rychtso the woman hir excusit, And said: ‘the serpent me abusit.’ ?a1610 A. Montgomerie Poems (1887) xviii. 51 Blind love his reson so abvsit. 1649 Bp. J. Taylor Great Exemplar iii. 65 He was abused into the act by a Prophet. 1702 Eng. Theophrastus 248 A Prince that desires by means of his Ambassador to deceive any other Prince, must first abuse his own Ambassador, to the end he should speak with the more earnestness. 1776 J. Wesley Wks. (1830) IV. 39 Many saw how miserably they had been abused by those vulgarly called Gospel Preachers. 1839 Documents Senate N.Y. 1839 III. 35 The community has been abused and deceived, for years, by the constant reiteration of the falsehood, that the Erie and Champlain canals were enriching the State. 1865 ‘M. Harland’ Husbands & Homes xiii. 135 I had forfeited your esteem, abused your confidence, deceived you in every respect. 1916 W. B. Trites Love ix. 147 What I gathered, ere he hurriedly changed the subject, was that Christine had abused, had deceived him. †b. transitive. In passive. To be deceived, mistaken. to be abused upon or in: to form a mistaken idea of (something), to fall into error about. Also reflexive. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 55 If ye Iuge the disposicion of my body after the colour of my face ye be gretly abused. 1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. ccxxiv. [ccxx.] 703 The Christen men were abused vpon ii. popes..some beleuyng on the one pope, and some vpon the other. 1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. ccxxv. [ccxxi.] 704 [He] had great dout that he was sore abused in those two popes. 1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning i. sig. L2 You are much abused, if you thinke your vertue can withstand the Kings power. View more context for this quotation 1660 J. Howell Lex. Tetraglotton Dict. (at cited word) Thou dost abuse thyself grossly: Tu t' abuses tout a fait. a1718 W. Penn Tracts in Wks. (1726) I. 766 That so we may not profane the name of God..nor abuse our selues unto Eternal Perdition. 1775 J. Cartwright Amer. Independence (new ed.) Postscript. 19 The people of Great-Britain, notwithstanding how greatly they are abused in this particular, do feel that they enjoy an actual and virtual representation, such as it is. 1848 Boston Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 24 May 334 Upon this subject the community is grossly abused and deceived. 4. transitive. To inflict a sexual act regarded as illicit or unnatural (such as fornication, incest, sodomy, etc.) on (a person); to assault (esp. a woman or child) sexually; to violate, rape. Also reflexive: to behave in a licentious manner; (in later use) to masturbate. ΘΚΠ society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > loss of chastity > deprive of chastity [verb (transitive)] > assault sexually abuse1447 rouze1582 touse1624 tousle1839 molest1902 interfere1948 1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) l. 4291 (MED) Wyth comoun wummen þou shalt abusyd be. ?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1872) IV. 365 (MED) Caligula..abusenge his sustres, puttenge theym in to exile after that abusion. 1531 W. Tyndale Answere Mores Dialoge f. xcviij The church permitteth to abuse mens wiues and sofereth sodomitrie. 1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes i. 137 Mencion was made of a boye in moste detestable abomynacion abused. 1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour i. 1236 in Wks. (1931) I Quhow men and wemen schamefullye Abusit thame selfis vnnaturallye. 1611 Bible (King James) Judges xix. 25 And abused her all the night vntil the morning. View more context for this quotation 1652 G. Winstanley Law of Freedom in Platform i. 24 If any man do force or abuse women in folly, pleading Community, the Laws following do punish such ignorant and unrational practise. 1699 T. D'Urfey Famous Hist. Rise & Fall Massaniello (1700) ii. i. ii. 8 They..are so horribly given to scandal, that they'l abuse all Woman-kind. 1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women I. i. 9 He that abuses you dishonours his mother. 1839 M. Ryan Prostitution in London 305 He cites the case of a young man, who greatly abused himself from the age of fifteen. 1864 G. W. Balfour tr. J. L. Casper Handbk. Pract. Forensic Med. III. 332 One solitary case of a boy alleged to have been abused paederastically. 1886 Northwestern Reporter 26 46 The complainant..made complaint that she had been abused and ravished. 1931 C. Y. Harrison Child is Born 136 Miss Roberts was then taken to a garage on E. 104th St., where, she alleges several other men abused her against her will. 1987 Guardian (Nexis) 22 Oct. The boy alleged he had been abused by his stepfather. 2003 J. R. Lennon Mailman i. vi. 313 He had done it, before—abused himself, that is, loved himself, brought himself off, choked the chicken. †5. transitive. Scottish. To disuse, give up (something); to neglect. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > unaccustomedness or state of disuse > give up a habit or practice [verb (transitive)] leaveeOE forsakec1175 waive1340 twinc1386 refuse1389 to set aside1426 relinquish1454 abuse1471 renouncec1480 disaccustom1483 to break from1530 to lay aside1530 disprofess1590 dropa1616 to set bya1674 decline1679 unpractise?1680 slough1845 shake1872 sluff1934 kick1936 the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > non-use > refrain from using [verb (transitive)] > cease to use leaveeOE to lay downa1450 abuse1471 disuse1487 to leave off1570 sink1705 to put down1733 to hang up (one's sword, gun, etc.)1826 1471 in Rec. Parl. Scotl. to 1707 (2007) 1471/5/6 At [= That] the futbal and golf be abusit in tym cummynge, and the buttis maid up and schot usit. 1527 in A. J. Warden Dundee Burgh Laws (1872) 100 We ordaine that article to be abused fra all outmen. c1540 J. Bellenden tr. H. Boece Hyst. & Cron. Scotl. vii. vi. f. 84^v/2 Thay conuenit in Argile..to lerne thair pepyll the art of cheualry. For thay war mony ȝeris abusit but ony exercition thairof. a1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) xxxiv. 107 The mull frequentis the anis, And hir awin kynd abusis. 6. transitive. To mistreat (a person or thing); to injure, hurt; to wrong.In quot. c1500: to cast (a person) down, to crush. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > [verb (transitive)] > to person or thing werdec725 wemc900 forworkOE evilc1000 teenOE grievec1230 misdoc1230 mischievec1325 shond1338 endamagec1374 unrighta1393 damagea1400 disvail14.. disavail1429 mischief1437 outrayc1440 prejudice1447 abuse?1473 injuryc1484 danger1488 prejudicate1553 damnify?a1562 wrack1562 inviolate1569 mislestc1573 indemnify1583 qualify1584 interess1587 buse1589 violence1592 injure1597 bane1601 envya1625 prejudiciala1637 founder1655 the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > ill-treatment > ill-treat [verb (transitive)] tuckc888 tawc893 misbedeOE graithc1330 to fare fair or foul with1340 misusea1382 outrayc1390 beshrewc1430 huspelc1440 misentreat1450 mistreat1453 abuse?1473 to mayne evil1481 demean1483 to put (a person) to villainya1513 harry1530 mishandle1530 touse1531 misorder1550 worrya1556 yark1565 mumble1588 buse1589 crow-tread1593 disabuse1607 maltreat1681 squeeze1691 ill-treat1794 punish1801 tousle1826 ill-use1841 razoo1890 mess1896 to play horse with1896 to bugger about1921 slug1925 to give (a person) the works1927 to kick about or around1938 mess1963 ?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) I. lf. 61 By your propre declaracion I will in no wise abuse yow. c1500 Three Kings' Sons (1895) 16 The kynges folkes..were so abused that they made but litle prese. ?1548 J. Bale Comedy Thre Lawes Nature 615 Beastes to abuse most monstruouslye. 1556 W. Lauder Compend. Tractate Dewtie of Kyngis sig. B4 And geue thay haue, the floke abusit Ȝe Kyngs sall be, for that accusit. 1611 Bible (King James) 2 Macc. xiv. 42 Chusing rather to die manfully, then to come into the hands of the wicked to be abused otherwise then beseemed his noble birth. View more context for this quotation a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Berks. 85 Abusing their servants with too little meat or sleep. 1691 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) II. 315 The duke of Norfolke was abused in the fray at the playhouse. 1715 Abstr. Penal Laws Customs, & Excise 3 Persons so hindring, abusing said Officers and Informers shall be Imprisoned. 1756 E. Burke Vindic. Nat. Society 39 In this kind of government human nature is not only abused and insulted, but it is actually degraded. 1847 Rep. Commissioners Inq. Millbank Prison 114 Did Farraway leave on account of ill-treatment?—He was much ill-used and abused, I believe. 1881 Child's Friend Nov. 174 Now, there's Mr. Peters; he gets drunk and abuses his wife, and papa has to go and take care of him. 1917 L. Carnovale Why Italy entered Great War i. xiii. 61 [He] invaded Tuscany; raided towns, despoiled and abused the populace. 1966 New Statesman 8 Apr. 512/2 Doomed Mr Hamilton is dragged about, manacled to a great cross-piece and generally abused. 1995 B. Bryson Notes from Small Island (1996) xxv. 305 Far too many of the Georgian buildings had been clumsily abused by the addition of modern frontages. 2005 2600 Summer 48/1 People engaging in peaceful demonstrations have been clubbed, pepper sprayed,..and otherwise abused for trying to shape a better world. 7. transitive. To speak insultingly or unkindly of or to (a person); to malign, revile, vilify (a person or thing). ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > [verb (transitive)] > abuse, scold, or wrangle chidec1230 revilea1393 to call (rarely to speak) (all) to naught1542 vituperate1542 abuse1592 to speak or look daggers1603 outrage1608 cuss1831 slangwhang1880 strafe1915 slag1958 name-call1960 the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > invective or abuse > abuse [verb (transitive)] vilea1300 rebutc1330 revilea1393 arunt1399 stainc1450 brawl1474 vituper1484 rebalk1501 to call (rarely to speak) (all) to naught1542 rattle1542 vituperate1542 bedaub1570 beray1576 bespurt1579 wring1581 misuse1583 caperclaw1589 abuse1592 rail1592 exagitate1593 to shoot atc1595 belabour1596 to scour one's mouth on1598 bespurtle1604 conviciate1604 scandala1616 delitigate1623 betongue1639 bespatter1644 rant1647 palt1648 opprobriatea1657 pelt1658 proscind1659 inveigh1670 clapperclaw1692 blackguard1767 philippize1804 drub1811 foul-mouth1822 bullyrag1823 target1837 barge1841 to light on ——1842 slang1844 villainize1857 slangwhang1880 slam-bang1888 vituperize1894 bad-mouth1941 slag1958 zing1962 to dump on (occasionally all over)1967 the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > slander or calumny > slander or calumniate [verb (transitive)] to say or speak shame of, on, byc950 teleeOE sayOE to speak evil (Old English be) ofc1000 belie?c1225 betell?c1225 missayc1225 skandera1300 disclanderc1300 wrenchc1300 bewrayc1330 bite1330 gothele1340 slanderc1340 deprave1362 hinderc1375 backbite1382 blasphemec1386 afamec1390 fame1393 to blow up?a1400 defamea1400 noise1425 to say well (also evil, ill, etc.) of (also by)1445 malignc1450 to speak villainy of1470 infame1483 injury1484 painta1522 malicea1526 denigrate1526 disfamea1533 misreporta1535 sugill?1539 dishonest?c1550 calumniate1554 scandalize1566 ill1577 blaze1579 traduce1581 misspeak1582 blot1583 abuse1592 wronga1596 infamonize1598 vilify1598 injure?a1600 forspeak1601 libel1602 infamize1605 belibel1606 calumnize1606 besquirt1611 colly1615 scandala1616 bedirt1622 soil1641 disfigurea1643 sycophant1642 spatter1645 sugillate1647 bespattera1652 bedung1655 asperse1656 mischieve1656 opprobriatea1657 reflect1661 dehonestate1663 carbonify1792 defamate1810 mouth1810 foul-mouth1822 lynch1836 rot1890 calumny1895 ding1903 bad-talk1938 norate1938 bad-mouth1941 monster1967 1592 Arden of Feversham sig. E^v To let thee know I am no coward, I tel thee, Shakbag, thou abusest me. a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) v. i. 125 I am no strumpet, but of life as honest, As you, that thus abuse me. View more context for this quotation 1680 T. Otway Orphan ii. 17 What have I done? and why do you abuse me? 1739 J. Miller Hosp. for Fools 9 She abuses him in the grossest manner, so that half the Town laugh at him. 1758 D. Garrick Gamesters Prol. These well bred letter-writers..Embrace us, eat our meat, and then—abuse us. 1839 T. Keightley Hist. Eng. II. 52 A preface in which the Pope was abused in the most virulent terms. 1883 W. Black Shandon Bells xxx We could not have one of our own reviewers abused in our own reviewing columns. 1911 H. S. Harrison Queed iv. 42 West..abused himself for a shiftless lackwit. 1949 ‘G. Orwell’ Nineteen Eighty-four i. i. 16 He was abusing Big Brother, he was denouncing the dictatorship of the Party. 1973 V. Teresa & T. C. Renner My Life in Mafia ii. 15 They were abused and cursed,..pilloried and insulted in this new land of freedom. 2009 I. Thomson Dead Yard xi. 132 Jamaican men, possibly because they associated his love of plants with an effeminate nature, abused him. 8. intransitive. To subject a person (esp. a woman or child) to physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > ill-treatment > ill-treat [verb (intransitive)] tucka1250 to do villainy or a villainy1303 abuse1978 the mind > emotion > fear > quality of inspiring fear > quality of being intimidating > intimidate or bully [verb (intransitive)] bully1733 browbeat1812 abuse1978 1978 R. S. Kempe & C. H. Kempe Child Abuse v. 79 Since the abused grow up to abuse, the intervention and treatment we offer serve not only to protect children now: they help to break the chain that binds future generations. 1981 K. C. Faller Social Work with Abused & Neglected Children 9 This survey indicates that mothers are more likely to abuse than fathers. 1996 J. D. McNeil in L. N. June & M. Parker Men to Men x. 170 Most men who abuse suffer from a deep sense of depression, shame, and inadequacy. Their abusive rages are often stimulated by..their unconscious feeling of needing to control a spouse. 1998 Community Care 7 May 7/3 A report has praised the probation service's work with sex offenders but laments the fact that it is failing adolescents who abuse. 2008 C. Gibson & V. M. Vandiver Juvenile Sex Offenders v. 127 Not enough research exists to fully answer the question of whether juvenile girls who sexually offend continue to abuse. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.1439v.c1430
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