Meaning & use
abuse
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Meanings
noununcountable
Cruel, violent, or unfair treatment of a person or animal.
Grammar: Uncountable in this sense: 'suffer abuse,' not 'suffer an abuse' (countable only in formal lists of abuses).
Patterns
- suffer abuse
- child abuse
- report abuse
The charity supports adults who suffered abuse as children.
She reported the abuse to her manager and to the police.
Animal abuse carries heavy fines in many countries.
noununcountable
The improper or harmful use of something, such as a drug, power, or a system.
Grammar: Uncountable: 'drug abuse,' 'abuse of power,' never 'an abuse of power' in this meaning.
Patterns
- drug abuse
- alcohol abuse
- abuse of power
- abuse of something
Long-term drug abuse damaged his health and career.
The inquiry examined the abuse of power by senior officials.
Sharing passwords can lead to abuse of the company system.
noununcountabledisapproving
Rude and insulting words said to a person.
Grammar: Uncountable: 'shout abuse,' 'a stream of abuse'; not used in the plural.
Patterns
- shout abuse at someone
- hurl abuse
- a stream of abuse
Fans shouted abuse at the referee after the final whistle.
She received a stream of abuse in her messages and blocked the sender.
The driver hurled abuse at the cyclist and drove off.
Word forms
| plural | abuses |
|---|
Common combinations
- child abuse
- Teachers are trained to recognize signs of child abuse.
- drug abuse
- The campaign aims to prevent drug abuse among teenagers.
- abuse of power
- Voters punished what they saw as an abuse of power.
- verbal abuse
- He left the job after months of verbal abuse from his boss.
- suffer abuse
- Patients should never have to suffer abuse from staff.
Synonyms and how they differ
- mistreatment
- Mistreatment is a neutral, general word for treating someone badly; abuse is stronger and suggests cruelty or harm.
- misuse
- Misuse fits the 'improper use' sense (misuse of funds); it is not used for cruelty toward people.
- insults
- Insults matches only the verbal sense of abuse and lacks the sense of an ongoing attack.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: abuse or abuse (verb)?
abuse vs abuse (verb)
The noun AB-use is stressed on the first syllable; the verb ab-USE, meaning to mistreat or misuse, is stressed on the second, though spelling is identical.
Practice
Which sentence uses the NOUN form with correct stress and grammar?
Choose one answer.
The noun 'abuse' is stressed on the first syllable and is uncountable here, so 'the abuse' is correct. Options 3 and 4 misuse countable forms where the uncountable 'abuse of power' is required; option 2 uses the verb stress for a noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “abuse”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.