abuse

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

v. t. misuse, misapply; mistreat, injure, damage; malign, scold, berate, vilify, curse; flay. — n. injury, desecration; insult. See disapprobation, badness, deception, impurity, wrong.Ant., praise, flattery.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [Misuse]

Syn. misuse, misapplication, perversion, debasement, degradation, ill-usage, misemployment, desecration, misappropriation, mishandling, mismanagement, pollution, improper use, exploitation, profanation, defilement, prostitution.

Ant. respect, care*, veneration.

2. [Insulting language]

Syn. invective, revilement, vituperation; see blame 1 , insult .

3. [Ill-treatment]

Syn. injury, mistreatment, damage, harm, hurt, maltreatment, ill-usage, ill-treatment, molestation, molesting, battering, battery, outrage, impairment, wrong, injustice, violation, persecution, harassment.

Ant. help*, defense, benefit.

v.

1. [To treat badly]

Syn. misuse, mistreat, insult, injure, hurt, harm, damage, impair, aggrieve, ill-treat, ill-use, batter, molest, maltreat, misemploy, misapply, misappropriate, wrong, persecute, torment, nag, victimize, oppress, ruin, mar, spoil, vulgarize, outrage, do wrong by, do wrong to, mishandle, pervert, profane, prostitute, desecrate, pollute, harass, manhandle, do an injustice to, take advantage of, exploit, overstrain, overwork, overtax, overdrive, overburden, violate, defile, impose upon, deprave, taint, debase, corrupt, squander, waste, dissipate, exhaust, do one's worst*, knock about*.

Ant. defend*, protect, befriend.

2. [To hurt with words]

Syn. revile, malign, vilify, berate; see censure , scold , slander .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

1. mistreatment maltreatment, ill-treatment, injury, harm, assault, cruelty, torment, brutality, molestation, exploitation, terrorizing, *stepping on, torturing, beating, thrashing, battery.

2. insulting or harsh language belittlement, degradation, denigration, deprecation, tongue-lashing, defamation, maligning, invective, criticism, upbraiding, dressing-down, ridicule, vilification, put-downs, verbal abuse.

ANT.: 1. care, kindness. 2. sweet talk, compliments, flattery

II

v.

1. mistreat maltreat, ill-treat, injure, exploit, harm, assault, disrespect, terrorize, molest, brutalize, manhandle, *step on, strong-arm, torture, beat, thrash, rape. 2.verbally abuse or use harsh language belittle, degrade, denigrate, deprecate, tongue-lash, defame, malign, criticize, upbraid, dress down, ridicule, vilify, put down, insult, *dis, *dig, *dump on, *bad-mouth, *trash.

ANT.: coddle, respect, nurture, pamper, dote on, sweet talk, flatter, compliment

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I verb 1. To use wrongly and improperly: misapply, misappropriate, mishandle, misuse, pervert. See TREAT WELL. 2. To take advantage of unfairly: exploit, impose, presume, use. See TREAT WELL. 3. To hurt or injure by maltreatment: ill-treat, ill-use, maltreat, mishandle, mistreat, misuse. See HELP. 4. To attack with harsh, often insulting language: assail, rail against (or at), revile, vituperate. See PRAISE. II noun 1. Wrong, often corrupt use: misapplication, misappropriation, mishandling, misuse, perversion. See TREAT WELL. 2. Physically harmful treatment: ill-treatment, maltreatment, mishandling, mistreatment, misusage. See HELP. 3. Harsh, often insulting language: billingsgate, contumely, invective, obloquy, railing, revilement, reviling, scurrility, scurrilousness, vituperation. See PRAISE.