The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - abuse v.

1) misuse, misemploy, pervert, misapply, exploit: The officer abused his authority in ordering the forced march at midnight. 2) maltreat, ill-use, injure, wrong, hurt, mistreat, manhandle, ill-treat; damage: I cannot stand by and watch that drunk abuse his wife and family. 3) malign, revile, censure, upbraid, assail, objurgate, lambaste, berate, rebuke, scold, reproach, disparage, traduce, defame, insult, swear at, curse (at) , calumniate, slander, libel, decry, deprecate, vilify, rail against: In the report the director was abused in the most virulent terms. --n. 4) misuse, misusage, misemployment, perversion, misapplication, misappropriation, Rhetoric catachresis: Beware of imitating his abuse of the language. 5) addiction, dependence: They are being treated for drug abuse at the local clinic. 6) maltreatment, ill-treatment, ill use, fault: It seemed perfectly natural that he should defend abuses by which he profited. 7) self-abuse, self-pollution, masturbation, violation, defilement; corruption: The schoolmasters consistently lectured the boys against any abuse of themselves. 8) revilement, reviling, execration, vituperation, malediction, imprecation, tongue-lashing, calumny, calumniation, vilification, obloquy, scurrility, invective, maligning, upbraiding, berating, objurgation, scolding; billingsgate: The two parties, after exchanging a good deal of abuse, came to blows.