1
as in abused
to put to a bad or improper use
an actor who misused his considerable talent by appearing in too many lousy movies
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bullied
to inflict physical or emotional harm upon
sadly misused by the people he had trusted
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 misused
Agency chair says data has been misused Early indications of the EEOC's plan to stop gathering data came a year ago.
—
Andrea Hsu, NPR, 1 June 2026
The real goal is to identify the actual point of compromise, such as where the data is being misused, who the rogue actor is, which account is the victim, which account is the mule and where the money is really going.
—Muhammad Azeem, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
Critics of the Take It Down law fear it could be misused by the FTC.
—James Peckham, PC Magazine, 21 May 2026
Polls showed Collins leading Carter and Dooley heading into the primary, despite his opponents' efforts to highlight allegations that Collins misused congressional funds, which is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee.
—Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 20 May 2026
Magyar has pledged to create the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office, an authority tasked with investigating and seeking to recover public funds allegedly misused during Orbán’s tenure.
—ABC News, 18 May 2026
More than 13 million Americans have misused nitrous oxide, according a 2023 national survey.
—Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 15 May 2026
Some of those numbers may be completely fabricated, while others may belong to real people whose caller ID information is being misused.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 14 May 2026
Magyar’s government plans to investigate and recover public funds misused under Orbán while ordering appointees to step down and joining EU corruption probes.
—Justin Spike, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026
Andrea Hsu, NPR, 1 June 2026
The real goal is to identify the actual point of compromise, such as where the data is being misused, who the rogue actor is, which account is the victim, which account is the mule and where the money is really going.
—Muhammad Azeem, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
Critics of the Take It Down law fear it could be misused by the FTC.
—James Peckham, PC Magazine, 21 May 2026
Polls showed Collins leading Carter and Dooley heading into the primary, despite his opponents' efforts to highlight allegations that Collins misused congressional funds, which is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee.
—Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 20 May 2026
Magyar has pledged to create the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office, an authority tasked with investigating and seeking to recover public funds allegedly misused during Orbán’s tenure.
—ABC News, 18 May 2026
More than 13 million Americans have misused nitrous oxide, according a 2023 national survey.
—Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 15 May 2026
Some of those numbers may be completely fabricated, while others may belong to real people whose caller ID information is being misused.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 14 May 2026
Magyar’s government plans to investigate and recover public funds misused under Orbán while ordering appointees to step down and joining EU corruption probes.
—Justin Spike, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misused
abused
Verb
-
Over the ensuing years, the estate worked aggressively to manage and grow the estate’s assets, in tandem with fighting off a growing number of allegations from men who said that the singer had abused them as children.—
Jem Aswad,
Variety,
27 May 2026
-
Organizers are now working with local police and monitoring cameras to make sure the system is not being abused.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
22 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misused.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misused. Accessed 3 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
