abusiveness

noun

as in cruelty

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for abusiveness
  1. cruelty
  2. hatred
  3. malevolence
  4. meanness
  5. viciousness
  6. malice
  7. spite
  8. maliciousness
Noun
  • So far, more than 100 officers have completed training on recognizing animal cruelty and collecting evidence, and have been equipped with referrals to resources if no cruelty is found.
    — Julie Sharp, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026
  • As Rhaenyra slowly descends into a pit of despair, cruelty and desperation, Daemon and his armies run into some snags on their assault of Tumbleton thanks to the various tricks Lord Ormund has up his sleeves.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of cruelty
Noun
  • The is mostly a political one that the far-right uses to stoke prejudice and hatred against a community already victimized by that and bullying.
    — Greg Cote August 9, Miami Herald, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Nordic noir suggests the presence of violence and hatred beneath the tranquillity and order of the Scandinavian welfare state, just as Southern noir peels back hospitality and charm to reveal repressed family secrets and moral decay.
    — Peter C. Baker, New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of hatred
Noun
  • Not for the first time, the president’s clumsiness is likely to negate his malevolence, though not without considerable cost, in time and money, to Comey.
    — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026
  • The rise of Santa Muerte The other folk saint tied to narco culture is Santa Muerte, whose Grim Reaper appearance and relative obscurity prompt assumptions of malevolence.
    — Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 7 June 2026
Definition of malevolence
Noun
  • The Very Online meanness, and attendant allegations of sexism and élitism, carries echoes of the rift between the Clintonites and the Bernie Bros; El-Sayed has talked openly of using a victory to shape the 2028 Presidential field.
    — Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Sometimes the irony turns bitter and, with a typically Eastern European sensibility, highlights the paradoxes of institutions, as well as the madness and meanness born from the pursuit and preservation of power.
    — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 8 June 2026
Definition of meanness
Noun
  • The jury further determined that the crimes involved a threat of great bodily harm and demonstrated a high degree of cruelty, viciousness or callousness, the district attorney's office said.
    — Richard Ramos, CBS News, 18 June 2026
  • The expediency of their exchanges (back and forth over a couple of weeks) electrified the planet, especially the mounting viciousness of Lamar’s attack (ad hominem all the way).
    — New York Times, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
Definition of viciousness
Noun
  • Takamura tasks Musashi with eliminating the malice that has spread around the city.
    — Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Epley points out that this tendency (homophily) is often driven by fear rather than malice.
    — Julie Kratz, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of malice
Noun
  • People don’t do what they’re supposed to, or someone betrays someone else for money or power or spite, or maybe a dragon just disobeys its rider and decides to murder a prince.
    — Brian Grubb, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
  • But stick with it by asking them to consider the positives and what can still work in spite of the setbacks.
    — Francesca Castagnoli, Parents, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of spite
Noun
  • Rather than pursuing code maliciousness, limit code behavior regarding networking calls, file accesses and memory execution.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 12 Feb. 2026
Definition of maliciousness
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

abusively
abusiveness
abut
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Abusiveness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abusiveness. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
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!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of vacuous

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

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 Pick the best words!
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?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All