MISUSING Synonyms: 61 Similar and Opposite Words

misusing

verb

present participle of misuse

as in abusing

to put to a bad or improper use an actor who misused his considerable talent by appearing in too many lousy movies

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as in bullying

to inflict physical or emotional harm upon sadly misused by the people he had trusted

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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.

Recent Examples of misusing In the last two months, authorities have announced cases involving three Cherokee County sheriff's deputies, five Albany police officers and three Richmond County officers, and others accused of misusing Georgia's license plate reader databases. — Dan Raby, CBS News, 31 July 2026 Beijing’s Commerce Ministry accused Washington of misusing national security and discriminating against Chinese companies. — Ron Schmelzer, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026 The New York State Museum in Albany has been accused of misusing $597, 624 in federal grant funds between 2020 and 2022, the Times-Union reported Wednesday. — Harrison Jacobs, ARTnews.com, 31 July 2026 The Greenville County Sheriff’s Department fired two officers this summer for misusing the agency’s Flock cameras, the Post and Courier reported Wednesday. — Noah Vinsky, Charlotte Observer, 29 July 2026 In the last two weeks, two Illinois House Democrats have been exposed for allegedly misusing their offices, engaging in reprehensible conduct and abusing the public trust placed in them as state representatives. — Amy Elik, Chicago Tribune, 26 July 2026 Just in the past month, five Albany police officers in Georgia were arrested and fired for allegedly misusing Flock, and police in Greer, South Carolina, fired two officers for misusing the product. — Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 26 July 2026 OpenAI has accused some Chinese developers of misusing distillation to build competing systems. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 24 July 2026 Several more law enforcement officers have been arrested and charged with misusing license plate reader systems this week, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and local officials. — Taylor Croft, AJC.com, 9 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for misusing

abusing

Verb

The woman Morris was convicted of abusing, Cindy Clemishire, has filed a $1 million defamation suit against Morris, the church, former and current elders, and a former church employee in Dallas County.

— Giles Hudson, CBS News, 1 Aug. 2026
One of them, a shorter, bearded man with a nose reddened and swollen from years of abusing liquor, gave a low whistle.

— Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 31 July 2026

Definition of abusing

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misuses

misusing

misutilization

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“Misusing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misusing. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of misusing

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