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misuse

noun · verb

Simple meaning

To abuse or mistreat.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

mihsyooz

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

mɪsˈjuz

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. An incorrect, improper or unlawful use of something.

  2. Improper or excessive use

verb

  1. transitive

    To use (something) incorrectly.

  2. transitive

    To abuse or mistreat (something or someone).

  3. transitive

    To rape (a woman); later more generally, to sexually abuse (someone).

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To abuse or mistreat (something or someone).

Used this way, misuse is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Negative
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Moderate
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Serious and weighty
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Nearby words

  • misapply , rarer, so it draws attention

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

drug misusesubstance misusealcohol misusepatent misusemisuse act

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • misusedadjectiveInflected form

    Used incorrectly or carelessly or for an improper purpose.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

noun

Sense: incorrect or improper or unlawful use of something

abuse

verb

Sense: to use (something) incorrectly

misapplyRare

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.