abusive

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
12
Words With Friends
15
Letters
7
Pronunciation
/əˈbjuː.sɪv/
See all 3 pronunciations
/əˈbjuː.sɪv/ · /əˈbju.sɪv/(US) · /əˈbju.zɪv/(US)

Definition of abusive

6 senses · 1 part of speech · etymology included

adj

  1. Prone to treat someone badly by coarse, insulting words or other maltreatment; vituperative; reproachful; scurrilous.
    “All they could ever do was to shout abusive inanities at me.”
See all 6 definitions

adj

  1. Prone to treat someone badly by coarse, insulting words or other maltreatment; vituperative; reproachful; scurrilous.
    “All they could ever do was to shout abusive inanities at me.”
  2. (obsolete)Tending to deceive; fraudulent.
    “an abusive treaty”
  3. (archaic)Tending to misuse; practising or containing abuse.
    “[…] to begin in this vacation the foundation of a trifling subject which might shroud in his leaves the abusive enormities of these our times.”
    “the abusive prerogatives of his see”
  4. Being physically or emotionally injurious; characterized by repeated violence or other abuse.
  5. Wrongly used; perverted; misapplied; unjust; illegal.
    “I am […]necessitated to use the word Parliament improperly, according to the abusive acceptation thereof.”
  6. (archaic)Catachrestic.

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

First attested in the 1530s. From French abusif, from Latin abūsīvus, from abusus + -ivus (“-ive”). Equivalent to abuse + -ive.

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