ABUSABLE
A*bus"a*ble, a.
Defn: That may be abused.
ABUSAGE
A*bus"age, n.
Defn: Abuse. [Obs.] Whately (1634).
ABUSE
A*buse", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Abused; p. pr. & vb. n. Abusing.] Etym:
[F. abuser; L. abusus, p. p. of abuti to abuse, misuse; ab + uti to
use. See Use.]
1. To put to a wrong use; to misapply; to misuse; to put to a bad use; to use for a wrong purpose or end; to pervert; as, to abuse inherited gold; to make an excessive use of; as, to abuse one's authority. This principle (if one may so abuse the word) shoots rapidly into popularity. Froude.
2. To use ill; to maltreat; to act injuriously to; to punish or to tax excessively; to hurt; as, to abuse prisoners, to abuse one's powers, one's patience.
3. To revile; to reproach coarsely; to disparage. The . . . tellers of news abused the general. Macaulay.
4. To dishonor. "Shall flight abuse your name" Shak.
5. To violate; to ravish. Spenser.