Misuse — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

improper or excessive use

apply to a wrong thing or person; apply badly or incorrectly

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/mɪsjˈuːs/

🇬🇧British English

/mɪsjˈuːs/

🇮🇳Indian English

/mɪsjˈuːs/

2 syllables Say it as /mɪsjˈuːs/.

Examples

alcohol abuse
the abuse of public funds
The words are misapplied in this context

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

pervert abuse misapply

Parts of Speech

noun	improper or excessive use “alcohol abuse”
verb	apply to a wrong thing or person; apply badly or incorrectly “The words are misapplied in this context”
verb	change the inherent purpose or function of something “Don't abuse the system”

Word Forms

misuse	verb	change the inherent purpose or function of something
abuse	verb	change the inherent purpose or function of something
misapplication	noun	wrong use or application
misuse	noun	improper or excessive use
perversion	noun	the action of perverting something (turning it to a wrong use)
abuse	noun	improper or excessive use

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Missbrauch

unsachgemäßer oder übermäßiger Gebrauch

🇫🇷French

abuser

utilisation inappropriée ou excessive

🇪🇸Spanish

mal uso

uso inadecuado o excesivo

🇮🇹Italian

abuso

uso improprio o eccessivo

🇳🇱Dutch

misbruik

oneigenlijk of overmatig gebruik

🇵🇹Portuguese

uso indevido

uso impróprio ou excessivo

🇷🇺Russian

злоупотребление

неправильное или чрезмерное использование

India

🇮🇳Hindi

दुस्र्पयोग करना

अनुचित या अत्यधिक उपयोग

🇧🇩Bengali

অপব্যবহার

অনুপযুক্ত বা অতিরিক্ত ব্যবহার

🇮🇳Tamil

தவறான பயன்பாடு

முறையற்ற அல்லது அதிகப்படியான பயன்பாடு

🇮🇳Telugu

దుర్వినియోగం

సరికాని లేదా అధిక వినియోగం

🇮🇳Marathi

गैरवापर

अयोग्य किंवा जास्त वापर

🇮🇳Gujarati

દુરુપયોગ

અયોગ્ય અથવા અતિશય ઉપયોગ

🇮🇳Kannada

ದುರುಪಯೋಗ

ಅನುಚಿತ ಅಥವಾ ಅತಿಯಾದ ಬಳಕೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

ദുരുപയോഗം

അനുചിതമായ അല്ലെങ്കിൽ അമിതമായ ഉപയോഗം

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਦੁਰਵਰਤੋਂ

ਗਲਤ ਜਾਂ ਬਹੁਤ ਜ਼ਿਆਦਾ ਵਰਤੋਂ

🇵🇰Urdu

غلط استعمال

غلط یا ضرورت سے زیادہ استعمال

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

滥用

不当或过度使用

🇯🇵Japanese

悪用

不適切または過剰な使用

🇰🇷Korean

오용

부적절하거나 과도한 사용

🇻🇳Vietnamese

lạm dụng

sử dụng không đúng cách hoặc quá mức

🇹🇭Thai

การใช้ในทางที่ผิด

การใช้งานที่ไม่เหมาะสมหรือมากเกินไป

🇮🇩Indonesian

penyalahgunaan

penggunaan yang tidak tepat atau berlebihan

🇵🇭Filipino

maling paggamit

hindi wasto o labis na paggamit

🇲🇾Malay

salah guna

penggunaan yang tidak betul atau berlebihan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

سوء الاستخدام

الاستخدام غير السليم أو المفرط

🇮🇷Persian

سوء استفاده

استفاده نادرست یا بیش از حد

🇹🇷Turkish

kötüye kullanma

uygunsuz veya aşırı kullanım

🇮🇱Hebrew

שימוש לרעה

שימוש לא נכון או מוגזם

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'misuse'?

The primary meaning of 'misuse' is 'improper or excessive use'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'misuse' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'misuse' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'misuse' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'misuse' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'misuse' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'misuse' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'misuse' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'misuse' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'misuse' in a professional email?

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Never

Would you classify 'misuse' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

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