abuse

«abuse» in Mova's school dictionary: Using something wrongly or too much, so it does harm:… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 3 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

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

• 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.