ABUSING Synonyms: 140 Similar and Opposite Words

abusing

verb

present participle of abuse

as in bullying

to inflict physical or emotional harm upon if you abuse your pet, he will always have an ugly disposition

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in attacking

to criticize harshly and usually publicly a demanding, difficult patient who constantly abuses the nurses and aides

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in misusing

to put to a bad or improper use if you abuse your baseball bat by using it to hammer nails, don't expect it to last long

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in exploiting

to take unfair advantage of abused his parents' trust, pilfering small amounts from them that he hoped they wouldn't notice

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of abusing In an earlier episode, Pam confronts Grace’s mother about abusing her daughter and ends up bashing in the woman’s head with a meat tenderizer — which sounds like a pivotal moment but plays more like a side quest. — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026 The former owner of several unlicensed North Texas boarding homes pleaded guilty Monday to financially abusing and fatally neglecting elderly and disabled people in her care, according to court filings. — Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Oct. 2026 Authorities learned that her company, which claimed to provide supervised personal care for adults in need throughout five homes in Tarrant County, was actually abusing and neglecting clients and committing fraud. — S.e. Jenkins, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026 In 1993, a man accused Calicott of abusing him as a boy, starting in 1976. — Shun Graves, Chicago Tribune, 14 Oct. 2026 The state attorney general was accused of accepting bribes and abusing his office to help a political donor whom the FBI was investigating. — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 13 Oct. 2026 Thriller in which a Latvian mother’s life in Sweden unravels after she is accused of abusing her young daughter. — Annika Pham, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026 This also means that the conventional password system still appears to be in place, allowing a hacker to break into an account through the traditional login method or by abusing the Starlink account recovery process. — Brian Westover, PC Magazine, 12 Oct. 2026 As Rolling Stone and Sportico have reported, the Riverside plaintiffs all allege that the church should have known that Lorch was abusing children. — Luke Cyphers, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for abusing

Verb

As recess is one of the most active places for bullying to take place, Rhea wanted to counteract that trend.

— Lina Ruiz, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Oct. 2026
Washington should project vision and leadership to its friends, not jarring uncertainty and bullying transactionalism.

— Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Foreign Affairs, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of bullying

Verb

In July, Brown pleaded guilty to a count of affray at London’s Southwark Crown Court for attacking a music producer with a tequila bottle on the head.

— Leo Barraclough, Variety, 26 Oct. 2026
The approval of Revolution Medicines’ pancreatic cancer drug Rasonque earlier this year showed that a medicine capable of attacking mutations in a group of genes called RAS could prolong survival for patients with the particularly aggressive cancer.

— Adam Feuerstein, STAT, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of attacking

Verb

While the software flaws have now been found and patches issued, the question remains whether enough of the internet will deploy the patches in time, before hackers start exploiting the vulnerability to attack websites and steal vital data.

— Emily Forlini, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
The blueprint included the recruitment of mercenaries and exploiting the grievances of disaffected citizens, from religious fanatics and extremists to soccer fans.

— Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of exploiting

Verb

Guevara has never been charged with a crime in connection with allegedly torturing supsects, and the statute of limitations has long since expired on any such charges, Felker said.

— Chris Tye, CBS News, 5 Oct. 2026
In 1996, Pike was found guilty of first-degree murder for beating, torturing and killing Slemmer, a fellow Jobs Corps worker, in a remote area of the University of Tennessee Agricultural campus.

— Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of torturing

Verb

The familyâs legal team filed complaints targeting Iranian officials who bankrolled Hamas, slamming the ICC for double standards and demanding arrest warrants for the regime bosses backing the atrocity.

— Staff, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026
Alex Alvarado’s political action committee is behind the texts slamming Rodriguez in an apparent effort to help Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier stay in office.

— Annie Martin, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of slamming

Verb

All three said West Point appears to be circumventing the judge's ruling by using a different justification to continue to enforce its speech rules.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 27 Oct. 2026
How people are using agents Several themes are emerging from people testing agents in their personal and professional lives.

— Marty Swant, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of using

Verb

Charlotte’s water utility has fielded about 18 complaints a day of people violating mandatory water restrictions in place since mid-May, when the region was facing an extreme drought crisis.

— Nick Sullivan, Charlotte Observer, 24 Oct. 2026
Just before kickoff, the Tide confirmed that Kirkpatrick was suspended for violating team rules.

— ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of violating

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abuses

abusing

abusive

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“Abusing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abusing. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of abusing

verb

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