From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishabusea‧buse1 /əˈbjuːs/ ●●○ S3 W3 noun 1 [plural, uncountable]CRUEL cruel or violent treatment of someone several cases of child abusephysical/sexual/racial abuse Many children suffer racial abuse at school. An independent committee will look into alleged human rights abuses.2 [countable, uncountable]USE something the use of something in a way that it should not be used SYN misuseabuse of government officials’ abuse of power A self-monitoring tax system is clearly open to abuse (=able to be used wrongly).alcohol/drug abuse (=the practice of drinking too much or taking illegal drugs) → solvent abuse3 [uncountable]INSULT rude or offensive things that someone says when they are angry vandalism and verbal abuse directed at old peoplea torrent/stream of abuse (=a series of rude or angry words)shout/hurl/scream abuse at somebody The other driver started hurling abuse at me. → a term of abuse at term1(3)
Examples from the Corpus
abuse• Dietz could not say whether Erik is lying about alleged abuse by his father.• The power to stop a prosecution arises only when it is an abuse of the process of the court.• Here participants were given a chance to discuss sexuality, health, relationships, self-esteem and abuse.• a case of child abuse at a daycare center• There has been an increase in the number of cases of child abuse.• In considering the problem of child abuse, we all have the same starting point.• Currently the best-known cases seeking money damages for failure to report child abuse and neglect have been filed against physicians and hospitals.• Instead of sighs and accidents there was pointed and deliberate abuse.• Demonstrators hurled abuse at councillors as they entered the council building in Glasgow.• This is an obscene abuse of political power.• Doctors believed that there was no evidence of abuse, despite the woman's claims.• Leaning out of the window, he let loose a stream of abuse.• By the late 1970s, the word "hippie" had become a term of abuse.• An angry mob screamed abuse and hurled missiles during clashes with police yesterday.• a victim of sexual abuse• People were shouting abuse at the Prime Minister as he sped away in a large car.• Yet everyone knew of the abuses which had grown, flourished and even became institutionalized in this laissezfaire prison system.• the abuse of the elderly• Worrell lost his job as coach because of his verbal abuse of players.child abuse• Rawlings worked out a procedure for network meetings similar to that used in a child abuse case conference.• States are increasingly enacting laws imposing liability for failure to report on those mandated to file child abuse reports.• In these circumstances the public interest in encouraging people to report cases of child abuse has been held to outweigh other interests.• There is no single, authoritative definition of child abuse.• We have no reliable statistics on the extent of child abuse and neglect.• Under recently passed statutes, teachers now also have a duty to report child abuse and neglect.• A problem in researching child abuse is that social workers, in particular, are consistently subjected to complaints about their work.abuse of• The environment cannot cope with our abuse of air, water, and land.• Nixon was accused of the abuse of presidential power.verbal abuse• A solid majority shows strong correlation with disrespectful behavior, verbal abuse and physical aggression.• There were the violent outbursts, way out of proportion to any wrong done, and constant verbal abuse.• Some 30 % of exclusions were for bullying, and a further 14.9 % for verbal abuse.• A four-letter word was among his offerings and the official had no alternative but to give him a warning for verbal abuse.• The effects of verbal abuse can be shattering.• I was scared of verbal abuse before, when I was bigger; now it's great to feel invisible.• They had descended to their usual shouting of verbal abuse.• Even though he never physically abused me, the verbal abuse was frightening.abusea‧buse2 /əˈbjuːz/ ●●○ verb [transitive] 1 CRUELto treat someone in a cruel and violent way, often sexuallysexually/physically abused She was sexually abused as a child.2 USE somethingto deliberately use something for the wrong purpose or for your own advantage Williams abused his position as mayor to give jobs to his friends. Morris abused the trust the firm had shown in him. people who abuse the systemabuse alcohol/drugs The proportion of drinkers who abuse alcohol is actually quite small.3 INSULTto say rude or offensive things to someone SYN insult Many soldiers in Belfast are verbally abused. He came to the help of another driver who was being racially abused by three white passengers.4 DESTROYto treat something so badly that you start to destroy it James abused his body for years with heroin and cocaine. —abuser noun [countable]→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
abuse• Some nursing home patients were neglected or abused.• Unfortunately no management principle discussed in this book is more abused.• Time allowed 00:21 Read in studio A man who sexually abused a schoolgirl has been given probation.• She was sexually abused as a child.• Erik testified he was sexually abused by his father since the age of 6.• As we get older, we may be abused by other authority figures - teachers, doctors, bosses.• Erica runs a hostel for women who have been abused by their husbands.• He said du Pont frequently carried a. 38-caliber pistol on the estate and abused cocaine and alcohol.• Many of the kids are abusing drugs.• Eleanor just abused him thoroughly, which wasn't very womanly in his opinion.• The player was reported to the tournament director for verbally abusing match officials.• The men were getting drunk on cheap beer and some had started abusing passers-by.• Most people on welfare do not abuse the system.• I ended up in Kibble List D. I just abused the teachers.• people who abuse the welfare system• athletes abusing their bodies with steroids• It exists in every civilised society so that Governments, the rich and the powerful can not abuse their position.• Local politicians abused their privileges to make themselves rich.• My father abused us for years.• Some lawyers seem to enjoy abusing witnesses.sexually/physically abused• Harsh discipline was the child's lot, and they were often terrorized deliberately and, not infrequently, sexually abused.• She noted that exceptions usually made are for children under the age of 10 who have been sexually abused.• This is also possible in children who have been sexually abused.• And sexually abused and physically battered kids run away from home.• Potentially explosive subtext -- Annie was sexually abused as a child -- is pretty much left in the background.• Counselling & Therapy with women who have been sexually abused as children on Feb 17.• Erik Menendez claims his father sexually abused him from age 12 until just days before the killing.• Abused A 13-year-old boy, the son of a Hollywood dentist, has alleged the 34-year-old multi-millionaire sexually abused him.abused ... position• But what makes Courtney especially dangerous is not that he abused his position as a doctor.• During his trial much was made of the way he had abused his position as a doctor.verbally abused• Less so is a creeping and curious menace of players being verbally abused.• Referee Alf Buksh is understood to have complained in his match report of being verbally abused by officials from both teams.• The last time I had it, a woman reporter was humiliated and verbally abused in a National Football League locker room.Origin abuse2 (1400-1500) French abuser, from Latin abusus, past participle of abuti, from ab- “away” + uti “to use” 