Meaning & use
abuse of power
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountable
The wrong use of an official position or authority to gain an advantage or harm others.
Grammar: Usually uncountable and used with no article: accused of abuse of power.
Patterns
- abuse of power by someone
- an abuse of power
The senator was accused of abuse of power after he fired the inspector.
Using police resources to settle a personal quarrel is a clear abuse of power.
Many protesters see the new law as an abuse of power.
Common combinations
- accused of abuse of power
- The mayor was accused of abuse of power over the contract.
- charged with abuse of power
- The official was charged with abuse of power.
- a flagrant abuse of power
- Critics called the order a flagrant abuse of power.
- an alleged abuse of power
- The inquiry examines an alleged abuse of power by the manager.
- a gross abuse of power
- Firing staff for disagreeing was a gross abuse of power.
Synonyms and how they differ
- misuse of authority
- Misuse of authority sounds a little milder and can describe small, everyday cases.
- corruption
- Corruption stresses dishonesty and bribery, whereas abuse of power may involve no money at all.
- overreach
- Overreach suggests going beyond one's proper limits, without necessarily acting with bad intent.
- tyranny
- Tyranny means cruel, unjust rule over a whole population and is far stronger.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: abuse of power or abuse of discretion?
abuse of power vs abuse of discretion
Abuse of discretion is a legal phrase about a decision-maker acting unreasonably within their allowed choices, while abuse of power is wider.
Practice
The committee investigated whether the director's secret deal was an ___.
Choose one answer.
Abuse of power is the fixed phrase for misusing authority. The other options are not set expressions with this meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “abuse of power”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.