You searched for: “abuses
abuse (uh BYOOZ) (s) (noun), abuses (pl)
1. A harmful treatment of a person, people, an animal, or animals: Recently there have been accusations of human rights abuses by some government officials of several countries.
2. The practice or act of using or doing something illegally: The governor's abuse of his power involved the buying of votes which resulted in his being prosecuted for malicious use of public funds.
3. Harsh and insulting words: The prisoner, who was on trial for murder, shouted abuses at the presiding judge accusing her of prejudice because he was a man.
4. Etymology: "to misuse, misapply", from Latin abusus, "a using up"; "misuse up"; from ab-. "away" + uti, "use".
This entry is located in the following units: a-, ab-, abs- (page 13) us-, ut- (page 1)
abuse (verb), abuses; abused; abusing
1. To use wrongly or improperly: The fact that Troy abused his wife both mentally and physically was brought to the judge's attention during the court procedure.
2. To use or to treat something in a way that causes damage: Ricky abused his car by not taking proper care of it and driving excessively fast.
3. To attack someone with words: The baseball fans were verbally abusing the umpire for calling the player "out"!
4. To engage in corrupt practices or activities or to use in an unfair way: Too many politicians tend to abuse their governmental positions with actions that will increase their monetary lifestyles.
This entry is located in the following units: a-, ab-, abs- (page 13) us-, ut- (page 1)