misuse
verb/mɪsˈjuːz/
Etymology From mis- + use (verb).
1
To use (something) incorrectly.
2
To abuse or mistreat (something or someone).
3
To rape (a woman); later more generally, to sexually abuse (someone).
- “If that is true she would be the first case I have ever heard of, as most female captives are misused by the entire tribe.”2013, Philipp Meyer, The Son, Simon & Schuster, published 2014, page 326:
4
Obsolete To abuse verbally, to insult.
- Socrates was brought upon the stage by Aristophanes, and misused to his face: but he laughed, as if it concerned him not […].1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 3, member 7:
- Derived terms
- misuser