abusenoun

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Using and misusing
adopt
adoption
avail
avail yourself of something
be/go heavy on somethingidiom
exhaust
give/allow something full playidiom
go into something
go through
gobble something up
make capital out of somethingidiom
spare
spent
swallow
tap
turn to someone/something
turn/use something to good accountidiom
unblock
underuse
underused

misuse | American Dictionary

misuse
verb[ T ]
us/mɪsˈjuz/
to use something in an unsuitable way or in a way that was not intended:
She’s been accused of misusing federal funds to pay for her son’s private school expenses.

misuse

noun[ C/U ]us/mɪsˈjus/
[ C ]This new computer system is completely unnecessary and a misuse of taxpayers’ money.

misuse | Business English

misuse
noun[ C or U ]
uk /ˌmɪsˈjuːs/us
the act of using something wrongly or in a dishonest way:
There are new rules about mobile phone use at work, and new penalties for misuse.
misuse of sthThe directors were charged with misuse of funds.
a blatant misuse of power
credit card/computer/internet misuse
misuse
verb[ T ]
uk /ˌmɪsˈjuːz/us
to use something wrongly or in a dishonest way:
misuse assets/funds/moneyHe was accused of misusing $2.4 million in union funds.
misuse your office/position/powerHer opponents claim that she misused her position.

Examples of misuse

misuse
This misuses the effort the target article took to reason carefully.
I feel quite sad that the world media has decided to concentrate on many of the misuses.
Some conclusions can usefully be drawn about what conditions are likely to encourage drugs misuse and what kinds of interventions might help.
There were suggestions that the articles involved the misuse of historical concepts and their evidence was wrong.
A study of antipsychotic drug use in nursing homes: epidemiological evidence suggesting misuse.
Another discusses sleep disorders but surprisingly there is not one on addiction and drug misuse, now recognised to be a significant problem in later life.
Those with organic psychoses or psychoses linked to major substance misuse were excluded.
None of the participants were excluded due to being over 45 years, having psychotic illness or substance misuse.
They underpinned devotion to relics and images, fostered the widespread use (and misuse) of sacramentals, and buttressed the thriving tradition of pilgrimage to prominent shrines.
Few studies focused on special patient groups such as homeless people or people with co-morbid substance misuse.
Alcohol-related fractures are common in chronic alcohol misuse and are associated with reduced bone mass and a higher incidence of osteoporosis.
Finally, the code of conduct to prevent the misuse of pension assets seems to have a positive impact on performance.
Such restrictions should not fall more heavily on biological materials than on chemical or radiological ones, given their tremendous potential for misuse.
Only under rare circumstances should findings be withheld, and then only to the extent required to reasonably protect against dangerous misuse.
The authorities may try to maintain the established meaning against the popular misuse but this misuse, if persisted in, imposes itself upon them.
See all examples of misuse
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.