(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.
Vilification
Definition:
(n.) The act of vilifying or defaming; abuse.
Example Sentences:
(1) Its campaign of vilification and deliberate misrepresentation of benefit spending has been effective, blaming the poor, not pay structures.
(2) Casillas had been the victim of an orchestrated campaign of “vilification” in recent years which eventually prompted his decision to quit, they added.
(3) The UK has followed US trends over cannabis, heroin and psychedelics, and led the world in the vilification of MDMA (ecstasy).
(4) Both sections were introduced in response to three major independent inquiries, including the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody, which found that racial hatred and vilification causes psychological harm to its targets, and reinforces and normalises more severe acts of discrimination, harassment, intimidation and violence.
(5) Jakarta's violent identity crisis: behind the vilification of Chinese-Indonesians Read more An edited version of that speech was later posted online with several words omitted, making it seem as though Ahok was suggesting the Qur’anic verse itself was misleading, not the Islamic leaders citing it.
(6) Jakarta's violent identity crisis: behind the vilification of Chinese-Indonesians Read more How did that start?
(7) Protection against racial vilification which upholds freedom of speech as well as freedom from racial vilification (much like the protection we already have, at time of print at least) is probably a good idea too.
(8) This review addresses the issues of dependence on an withdrawal from benzodiazepines and weighs up the evidence for their present vilification.
(9) Brandis said the overall changes would strengthen the act by including vilification as an offence.
(10) Representatives of Muslim and Arab organisations also reported that members of their communities experienced racial and religious vilification with regular frequency, not only in verbal form, but also through offensive letters and pamphlets,” the report said.
(11) In the days that followed, the pro-army media broadcast endless hours of patriotic messages and vilification of Morsi and the Brotherhood.
(12) Bahá'ís are denied jobs in the public sector; their businesses are closed and property appropriated; and the entire community is subjected to waves of defamation and vilification in the state media.
(13) As awareness increases it exposes some negative views, and there’s often a lashing out by some members of the community at trans people.” We were also seen as dangerous by our fellow gay people Mark Gillespie She cites vilification of the writer and soldier Cate McGregor by some commentators and bloggers.
(14) Ironically, in writing her book, Chua has done the most western thing imaginable: she has exposed herself, warts and all, at risk of misunderstanding and vilification.
(15) So why did Sir Andrew break away from this comfort zone and help found an organisation that was inevitably going to bring him publicity and vilification?
(16) This is in contrast to vilification and alienation which research suggests can catalyse re-offending.
(17) In the statement, he said: "The soil we till is highly controversial, and anyone who puts their head above the parapet has to be prepared to endure a degree of public vilification.
(18) But with an estimated one million US citizens living in Mexico – a large portion of whom are retirees – it is perhaps inevitable that some should support a candidate whose campaign has been built on the vilification of the country.
(19) Zimmerman argued while there should be laws to prevent racial vilification, people’s religious beliefs should be allowed to be criticised.
(20) MacFarlane, 39, did not comment on his vilification in the media for perceived sexism – not least on account of his opening number We Saw Your Boobs – other than to post a link to a Huffington Post blog on the proliferation of the "celebrity sideboob" in 2012.