1
as in bullied
to inflict physical or emotional harm upon
if you abuse your pet, he will always have an ugly disposition
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in attacked
to criticize harshly and usually publicly
a demanding, difficult patient who constantly abuses the nurses and aides
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in misused
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in exploited
to take unfair advantage of
abused his parents' trust, pilfering small amounts from them that he hoped they wouldn't notice
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in maltreated
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of abused
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 20 June 2025
The Handmaid's Tale's final season saw a revolution come to Gilead, with the abused women of this dystopia rising up to slaughter the patriarchal class and take back the U.S.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 27 May 2025
Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2025
Many of us were abused by them.
—Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for abused
Verb
The Color Purple' (1985) Exceptional performances (especially Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey) drive this wrenching and intimate story of abused but strong women who find their voices and identity in early 20th-century Georgia.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 20 June 2025
The Handmaid's Tale's final season saw a revolution come to Gilead, with the abused women of this dystopia rising up to slaughter the patriarchal class and take back the U.S.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 27 May 2025
Adjective
During closing arguments, prosecutor Bronwyn Nayci emphasized how Ramos-Aviles abused children for years — recounting the girls’ testimonies.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2025
Many of us were abused by them.
—Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for abused
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abused
Verb
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Friends of mine received unwanted explicit snaps from male peers, some were contacted by complete strangers, and many were bullied on the platform.—
Annabelle Canela,
Parents,
12 Sep. 2025
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His twin sister, Danielle, who is also autistic, was bullied by classmates and became suicidal.—
Fred Clasen-Kelly,
ABC News,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Tonges, who before Sunday’s game had never caught a regular-season pass, attacked the ball and gave San Francisco the lead.—
Michael-Shawn Dugar,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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The occurrences grew more aggressive over time, with the Smurls' 75-pound German shepherd getting slammed into a wall and Jack getting attacked while praying.—
Jessica Sager,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The report also detailed how its AI capabilities were being misused by North Korean operatives who used it to obtain remote jobs at tech companies.—
Steve Weisman,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
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Sensitive information could be stored, analyzed, or misused without families fully knowing.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
31 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Vulnerabilities in those systems have been exploited in high-profile attacks across DeFi.—
Tony Bradley,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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Jeffrey Breinholt, an architect of the material support statutes who spent three decades as a federal terrorism prosecutor, defends the laws as crucial to closing loopholes that were exploited by foreign militant groups and their domestic sympathizers.—
Hannah Allam,
ProPublica,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Emily Brontë appears in every way indifferent to the need for love and companionship that tortured the lives of her sisters.—
Emily Temple
September 5,
Literary Hub,
5 Sep. 2025
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Several women were tortured and gang raped.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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In the aftermath of the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, several Democratic power players mourned him and slammed political violence.—
Ross O'Keefe,
The Washington Examiner,
11 Sep. 2025
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The vehicle then went off the roadway and slammed into a utility box, a sheriff’s news release said.—
City News Service,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The real fiends were the ones who perverted science, who attacked this misunderstood giant out of fear, who branded him as something unholy and unworthy to exist, who gave him life but didn’t give him love.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
9 Sep. 2025
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Instead, the concept has been perverted to mean higher-ed grandees' exclusive right to determine who participates in scholarly life.—
Ilya Shapiro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Testing in a model plant The team added the McG cycle genes to Arabidopsis thaliana, a small weed often used in plant research.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Sep. 2025
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The dating technique used on the eggs, known more formally as carbonate uranium-lead, or U-Pb, dating, is a common process for determining the age of carbonate minerals — those containing calcium, iron, manganese and magnesium.—
Mindy Weisberger,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Abused.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abused. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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