abuse
part of speech
noun (abuse — uncountable; an abuse); verb (abuse, abuses, abused, abusing)
meaning for a pupil
1) Using something wrongly or too much, so it does harm: drug abuse, abuse of power. tree →
2) Cruel or violent treatment of a person or animal. tree →
3) Rude, insulting words: shouting abuse. tree →
4) (verb) To treat someone cruelly. tree →
5) (verb) To use something badly or unfairly. tree →
6) To abuse someone can also mean to insult them with rude words. tree →
sense in the lessons
In safety lessons, pupils learn that abuse of a child is never their fault and that they should tell a trusted adult or call a helpline. In news and social studies: abuse of power, animal abuse. In sport, players can be punished for verbal abuse. Phrases: verbal abuse, abuse of power, report abuse.
examples
- Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing this resource, we have taken steps to prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →
- If anyone hurts you, it is abuse; tell a trusted adult. tree →
- The fans shouted abuse at the referee. tree →
- Animal abuse is a crime. tree →
- He abused his power as captain. tree →
- Don't abuse the trust your friends give you. tree →
- The website has a button to report abuse. tree →
- The Lion abused him as a traitor. tree →
note
The noun ends in an s sound (a-BYOOSS); the verb ends in a z sound (a-BYOOZ). Adjective: abusive. If you feel unsafe, talk to a teacher, parent or a child helpline.
In the corpora
- Trolling means sending many cruel messages online; you can disagree strongly with someone without abusing them.
- Many grassroots referees are teenagers, and abuse from the touchline is a big reason referees give up.
- Many grassroots referees are teenagers, and abuse from the touchline is a big reason referees quit.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «abuse» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.