misuse


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Related to misuse: substance misuse

mis·use

 (mĭs-yo͞oz′)
tr.v. mis·used, mis·us·ing, mis·us·es
1. To use incorrectly.
2. To mistreat or abuse. See Synonyms at abuse.
n. (-yo͞os′)
Improper, unlawful, or incorrect use; misapplication.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

misuse

n
1. erroneous, improper, or unorthodox use: misuse of words.
2. cruel or inhumane treatment
vb (tr)
3. to use wrongly
4. to treat badly or harshly
5. (Medicine) to use (something, esp alcohol, drugs, etc) improperly
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

mis•use

(n. mɪsˈyus; v. -ˈyuz)

n., v. -used, -us•ing. n.
1. wrong or improper use; misapplication.
v.t.
2. to use incorrectly or improperly: to misuse a word.
3. to treat badly or abusively; mistreat: to misuse a friend.
mis•us′er, n.
[1350–1400]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

misuse


Past participle: misused
Gerund: misusing

Imperative
misuse
misuse
Present
I misuse
you misuse
he/she/it misuses
we misuse
you misuse
they misuse
Preterite
I misused
you misused
he/she/it misused
we misused
you misused
they misused
Present Continuous
I am misusing
you are misusing
he/she/it is misusing
we are misusing
you are misusing
they are misusing
Present Perfect
I have misused
you have misused
he/she/it has misused
we have misused
you have misused
they have misused
Past Continuous
I was misusing
you were misusing
he/she/it was misusing
we were misusing
you were misusing
they were misusing
Past Perfect
I had misused
you had misused
he/she/it had misused
we had misused
you had misused
they had misused
Future
I will misuse
you will misuse
he/she/it will misuse
we will misuse
you will misuse
they will misuse
Future Perfect
I will have misused
you will have misused
he/she/it will have misused
we will have misused
you will have misused
they will have misused
Future Continuous
I will be misusing
you will be misusing
he/she/it will be misusing
we will be misusing
you will be misusing
they will be misusing
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been misusing
you have been misusing
he/she/it has been misusing
we have been misusing
you have been misusing
they have been misusing
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been misusing
you will have been misusing
he/she/it will have been misusing
we will have been misusing
you will have been misusing
they will have been misusing
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been misusing
you had been misusing
he/she/it had been misusing
we had been misusing
you had been misusing
they had been misusing
Conditional
I would misuse
you would misuse
he/she/it would misuse
we would misuse
you would misuse
they would misuse
Past Conditional
I would have misused
you would have misused
he/she/it would have misused
we would have misused
you would have misused
they would have misused
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.misuse - improper or excessive usemisuse - improper or excessive use; "alcohol abuse"; "the abuse of public funds"
usage, use, utilisation, utilization, exercise, employment - the act of using; "he warned against the use of narcotic drugs"; "skilled in the utilization of computers"
drug abuse, substance abuse, habit - excessive use of drugs
Verb1.misuse - apply to a wrong thing or personmisuse - apply to a wrong thing or person; apply badly or incorrectly; "The words are misapplied in this context"; "You are misapplying the name of this religious group"
apply, employ, use, utilise, utilize - put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose; "use your head!"; "we only use Spanish at home"; "I can't use this tool"; "Apply a magnetic field here"; "This thinking was applied to many projects"; "How do you utilize this tool?"; "I apply this rule to get good results"; "use the plastic bags to store the food"; "He doesn't know how to use a computer"
2.misuse - change the inherent purpose or function of somethingmisuse - change the inherent purpose or function of something; "Don't abuse the system"; "The director of the factory misused the funds intended for the health care of his workers"
fracture - violate or abuse; "This writer really fractures the language"
expend, use - use up, consume fully; "The legislature expended its time on school questions"
take in vain - use a name, such as God, without proper respect
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

misuse

noun
1. waste, embezzlement, squandering, dissipation, fraudulent use, misemployment, misusage the misuse of public funds
2. abuse, corruption, exploitation the misuse of power
3. misapplication, abuse, illegal use, wrong use the misuse of drugs in sport
4. perversion, distortion, desecration, profanation Being a born-again Christian is a deplorable misuse of a faith.
5. misapplication, solecism, malapropism, catachresis his hilarious misuse of words
6. mistreatment, abuse, harm, exploitation, injury, manhandling, ill-treatment, maltreatment, rough handling, inhumane treatment, cruel treatment, ill-usage the history of the misuse of Aborigines
verb
1. abuse, misapply, misemploy, prostitute She misused her position in the government.
2. waste, squander, dissipate, embezzle, misappropriate The committee has cleared leaders of misusing funds.
3. mistreat, abuse, injure, harm, exploit, wrong, molest, manhandle, ill-treat, brutalize, maltreat, ill-use, handle roughly His parents should not have misused him.
mistreat respect, honour, cherish, prize, appreciate, treasure
4. profane, corrupt, desecrate, pervert breaking a taboo, misusing a sacred ceremony
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

misuse

nounverb
1. To use wrongly and improperly:
2. To hurt or injure by maltreatment:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
يَسْتَعْمِل بِصورةٍ خاطِئَهيُسيء اسْتِعْماليُعامِل بِصورةٍ سَيِّئَه
špatné použitíšpatně užívatšpatně zacházet
misbrugmisbrugemishandle
helytelen felhasználáshelytelenül használrossz célra használ fel
misnotarangnotaröng notkun; misnotkun
netinkamai naudotinetinkamai pasielgti sunetinkamas naudojimasnetinkamas vartojimas
nepareiza/ļaunprātīga lietošana
nesprávne použitienesprávne používať
kötü davranmakkötüye kullanmaksuiistimal etmekyanlış kullanmak

misuse

[ˌmɪsˈjuːs]
A. N [of power, drug] → abuso m; [of machine] → mal uso m or manejo m; [of word, language] → uso m incorrecto; [of funds] → malversación f
B. [ˌmɪsˈjuːz] VT [+ power, drug] → abusar de; [+ machine] → usar or manejar mal; [+ word, language] → utilizar or emplear mal; [+ funds] → malversar
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

misuse

[ˌmɪsˈjuːs]
n
[resources, funds] → mauvais usage m
[power] → abus m
[drugs] → mésusage m
misuse of alcohol → abus m d'alcool
[language, word] → mauvais usage m
[ˌmɪsˈjuːz] vt
[+ resources, funds] → faire un mauvais usage de
He wanted to prevent science from being misused
BUT Il voulait empêcher la science d'être utilisée à de mauvaises fins.
[+ drugs, alcohol] → abuser de
[+ word] → galvauder
Fitness is one of the most misused words in the English language → Le mot "fitness" est l'un des plus galvaudés de la langue anglaise.
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

misuse

nMissbrauch m; (of words)falscher Gebrauch; (of funds)Zweckentfremdung f; misuse of power/authorityMacht-/Amtsmissbrauch m
vtmissbrauchen; wordsfalsch gebrauchen; fundszweckentfremden
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

misuse

[n ˌmɪsˈjuːs; vb ˌmɪsˈjuːz]
1. n (of power, authority) → abuso; (of word, tool) → uso improprio; (of resources, time, energies) → cattivo uso
2. vt (see n) → abusare di; (XXX) → usare impropriamente; (XXX) → fare cattivo uso di
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

misuse

(misˈjuːs) noun
(a) wrong or bad use. the misuse of company money; The machine was damaged by misuse.
ˌmisˈuse (-ˈjuːz) verb
1. to use wrongly.
2. to treat badly.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
Bring but the shadow of evil upon her, misuse your power but ever so slightly against her, and I warn you that I shall count the few years of life left to me a trifle
- in other words, for making an arbitrary misuse of your position."
Nevertheless he ought to take care not to misuse this clemency.
"If it had been possible, Miss Manette, that you could have returned the love of the man you see before yourself--flung away, wasted, drunken, poor creature of misuse as you know him to be--he would have been conscious this day and hour, in spite of his happiness, that he would bring you to misery, bring you to sorrow and repentance, blight you, disgrace you, pull you down with him.
Not even the shadow of a doubt was ever suggested; and Samuel made an intolerable misuse of the first person plural:
And now to the explanation of my use, or misuse, of the phrase.
Was this a people to stand in his way, to claim the protection and sympathy of foreign governments against their own bond, that they might keep their land for misuse and their bodies for debauchery?
The conversation passed to the misuse of political power in the United States, but Anna quickly brought it round to another topic, so as to draw the steward into talk.
"I trust so," said Arthur: "and, though I don't want to see 'brawling in church' legalised, I must say that our preachers enjoy an enormous privilege--which they ill deserve, and which they misuse terribly.
Anne was considering whether she should venture to suggest that a gown, or a cap, would not be liable to any such misuse, when a knock at the door suspended everything.
It is so sad when people who have abilities misuse them, and I must say they nearly always do.
"He will get into worse trouble if he often misuses his large and heavy hand as he has misused it here.