(v. t.) To put to a wrong use; to misapply; to misuse; to put to a bad use; to use for a wrong purpose or end; to pervert; as, to abuse inherited gold; to make an excessive use of; as, to abuse one's authority.
(v. t.) To use ill; to maltreat; to act injuriously to; to punish or to tax excessively; to hurt; as, to abuse prisoners, to abuse one's powers, one's patience.
(v. t.) To revile; to reproach coarsely; to disparage.
(v. t.) To dishonor.
(v. t.) To violate; to ravish.
(v. t.) To deceive; to impose on.
(v. t.) Improper treatment or use; application to a wrong or bad purpose; misuse; as, an abuse of our natural powers; an abuse of civil rights, or of privileges or advantages; an abuse of language.
(v. t.) Physical ill treatment; injury.
(v. t.) A corrupt practice or custom; offense; crime; fault; as, the abuses in the civil service.
(v. t.) Violation; rape; as, abuse of a female child.
Example Sentences:
(1) Unfortunately, due to confidentiality clauses that have been imposed on us by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, we are unable to provide our full names and … titles … However, we believe the evidence that will be submitted will validate the statements that we are making in this submission.” The submission detailed specific allegations – including names and dates – of sexual abuse of child detainees, violence and bullying of children, suicide attempts by children and medical neglect.
(2) The authors empirically studied the self-medication hypothesis of drug abuse by examining drug effects and motivation for drug use in 494 hospitalized drug abusers.
(3) Alcohol abuse remains the predominant cause of chronic liver disease in the Western world.
(4) With respect to family environment, a history of sexual abuse was associated with perceptions that families of origin had less cohesion, more conflict, less emphasis on moral-religious matters, less emphasis on achievement, and less of an orientation towards intellectual, cultural, and recreational pursuits.
(5) An official inquiry into the Rotherham abuse scandal blamed failings by Rotherham council and South Yorkshire police.
(6) Former detectives had dug out damning evidence of abuse, as well as testimony from officers recommending prosecution, sources said.
(7) After these two experimental years, a governmental institute for prevention of child abuse and neglect was organized.
(8) Stringer, a Vietnam war veteran who was knighted in 1999, is already inside the corporation, if only for a few months, after he was appointed as one of its non-executive directors to toughen up the BBC's governance following a string of scandals, from the Jimmy Savile abuse to multimillion-pound executive payoffs.
(9) History contains numerous examples of government secrecy breeding abuse.
(10) This preliminary study compared the level of ego development, as measured by Loevinger's Washington University Sentence Completion Test (SCT), of 30 women with histories of childhood sexual victimization, and 30 women with no history of abuse.
(11) The District became a byword for crime and drug abuse, while its “mayor for life” lived high on the hog and lurched cheerfully from one scandal to the next.
(12) An official from Cafcass, the children and family court advisory service, tried to persuade the child in several interviews, but eventually the official told the court that further persuasion was inappropriate and essentially abusive.
(13) A series of hierarchical multiple regressions revealed the effects of Surgency, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and Intellect on evoking upset in spouses through condescension (e.g., treating spouse as stupid or inferior), possessiveness (demanding too much time and attention), abuse (slapping spouse), unfaithfulness (having sex with others), inconsiderateness (leaving toilet seat up), moodiness (crying a lot), alcohol abuse (drinking too much alcohol), emotional constriction (hiding emotions to act tough), and self-centeredness (acting selfishly).
(14) Its abuse has become concentrated among post-high school age, black males in a limited number of cities, especially Washington, DC.
(15) From a clinical standpoint, it is clear that psychiatrists caring for anxious patients must be aware of the possibility of secondary alcohol abuse.
(16) A thorough nursing assessment is essential to detect and correct drug misuse and to diagnose drug abuse.
(17) Substantial percentages of both physicians and medical students reported access to drugs, family histories of substance abuse, stress at work and home, emotional problems, and sensation seeking.
(18) Subjects with past history of chronic substance abuse, neurologic disease, or focal findings on MRI or CT were excluded.
(19) And any Labour commitment on spending is fatally undermined by their deficit amnesia.” Davey widened the attack on the Tories, following a public row this week between Clegg and Theresa May over the “snooper’s charter”, by accusing his cabinet colleague Eric Pickles of coming close to abusing his powers by blocking new onshore developments against the wishes of some local councils.
(20) Again, the boys in care that he abused now speak to us as broken adults.
Improperly
Definition:
(adv.) In an improper manner; not properly; unsuitably; unbecomingly.
Example Sentences:
(1) The purpose of this paper is to outline procedures that will facilitate the integration of microcomputers into the clinical milieu by (a) identifying the reasons why and how these devices are used improperly; (b) proposing ways to correct these problems; (c) providing recommendations concerning the acquisition of major microcomputer hardware, software, and adaptations; and (d) providing an annotated list of resources for further information.
(2) While ruling that there had been improper use of Schedule 7 powers, the judge commented: "It was clear that the Security Service, for entirely understandable reasons, was anxious if possible to get information which could not be regarded as tainted by torture allegations or which might confirm the propriety of a control order."
(3) Aggressive or improper toothbrushing techniques may have a detrimental impact on the gingiva.
(4) By abusing his power, he was engrossed in irregularities and corruption, had improper relations with several women and was wined and dined at back parlours of deluxe restaurants.
(5) If the sexual attack is dealt with improperly or repressed it may cause serious psychologic problems for the victim as an adult.
(6) He also denied there was anything improper in his taking work writing for News International newspapers immediately after retiring from the force.
(7) Improperly prepared home-canned products which are tasted or consumed without heating are more likely to be associated with botulism.
(8) "We believe that this is unavoidable following the recent costs to all the citizens of the UK as a result of banking failures, mismanagement and improper practices," said a spokesperson for the City Reform Group.
(9) It’s especially not appropriate for a citizen seeking election to this house or selection to the ministry canvassing for money and support to seek to damage individuals’ reputation by commencing court actions for what could only be an improper purpose.” Palmer said the former treasurer, Joe Hockey, had been staying at the resort at the time and “walked past the table” where they were sitting and “merely sat down to have a coffee”.
(10) In some cases, however, the enzymatic defect results from improper post-translational modification which affects precursor processing.
(11) These operative-technical errors were divided into three groups: improperly determined level of intestinal resection, defects of transposition, defects of anastomosis creation.
(12) Of the paralytic cases 22% had proper vaccination while improper vaccination was found in 78%.
(13) In overturning the fine, the court today found that the commission had long "practiced restraint" in exercising its authority to sanction broadcasters for indecent content, and that the mammoth fine was an improper departure from that.
(14) The frustrations include separation from family, uncomfortable living conditions, language barriers, and inability to change medical practices that seem improper.
(15) In this series, there were two treatment-related deaths, one secondary to the chemotherapy, the other to improper catheter placement.
(16) The authors mathematically analyze why they feel the risk was improperly computed.
(17) Now that we know the practice is widespread among physicians in training, we can conjecture that the demand for improper reporting of diagnostic data by sonographers is likely widespread among physicians in practice also.
(18) "Mourinho denied a breach of FA rule E3 in that his behaviour in re-entering the field of play and approaching the match referee [Foy] in an attempt to speak to him, in or around the 90th minute of the game against Aston Villa on 15 March 2014, amounted to improper conduct.
(19) Many advantages are credited with this offensive attitude which requires an appropriate organisation of the Departments of Traumatology, the intimate collaboration of surgeons called orthopedic or plastic surgeons, improperly divided by too administrative compartmentalization of the surgical specialties.
(20) This led to a need to carry out improper accounting on an even bigger scale, and as this was repeated, the scale of the inappropriate book-keeping also expanded,” it said.