misuse

1 of 2

verb

mis·​use ˌmis-ˈyüz How to pronounce misuse (audio)
misused; misusing; misuses
Synonyms of misusenext

transitive verb

1
: to use incorrectly : misapply
misused his talents
a word that is frequently misused
2
: abuse, mistreat
… their prisoner had the heavy task of receiving their insolence as wit, answering their insults with good-humour, and withholding from them the opportunity which they sought of engaging him in a quarrel, that they might have a pretence for misusing him.—Sir Walter Scott
misuser noun
plural misusers

misuse

2 of 2

noun

mis·​use ˌmis-ˈyüs How to pronounce misuse (audio)
: incorrect or improper use : misapplication

Synonyms

Verb

Noun

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 

Examples of misuse in a Sentence

Verb She's charged with misusing company funds. a word that is frequently misused Noun No refunds will be offered on products damaged by misuse. the warranty for this dryer is null and void if you subject the product to deliberate misuse
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
But like any tool, AI can be misused even by the well-intentioned. —Bysharon Goldman, Fortune, 18 Apr. 2024 And in 2015, a divided court said prosecutors misused a far-reaching obstruction statute to go after a Florida fisherman. —Ann E. Marimow, Washington Post, 13 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for misuse 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'misuse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

Middle English, partly from mis- + usen to use; partly from Middle French mesuser to abuse, from Old French, from mes- + user to use

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of misuse was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near misuse

misusage

misuse

misuse of patents

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Misuse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misuse. Accessed 3 May. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

misuse

1 of 2 verb
mis·​use mish-ˈüz How to pronounce misuse (audio)
(ˈ)mish-ˈyüz,
(ˈ)mis-ˈyüz
1
: to use incorrectly : misapply
2
: abuse entry 1 sense 2, mistreat
misusage
-ˈ(y)ü-sij
-zij
noun

misuse

2 of 2 noun
mis·​use mish-ˈüs How to pronounce misuse (audio)
(ˈ)mish-ˈyüs,
(ˈ)mis-ˈyüs
: incorrect or improper use

More from Merriam-Webster on misuse

Nglish: Translation of misuse for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of misuse for Arabic Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

What’s the difference between ‘hillbilly’ and ‘redneck’?

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Absent Letters That Are Heard Anyway
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

12 Star Wars Words

The Words of the Week - May 3

9 Superb Owl Words

10 Words for Lesser-Known Games and Sports

Your Favorite Band is in the Dictionary
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game You can make only 12 words. Pick the best ones!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A crossword with a twist
winning words from the national spelling bee logo
Spelling Bee Quiz Can you outdo past winners of the National Spelli...