abusive

CEFRC1

/əˈbjuː.sɪv/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Using cruel, harmful, or insulting behavior.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Tending to deceive; fraudulent.

Examples

  • I had never received such an abusive letter before.

  • They used abusive language to her.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
4
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /əˈbju.zɪv/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Tending to misuse; practising or containing abuse.

  2. Prone to treat someone badly by coarse, insulting words or other maltreatment; vituperative; reproachful; scurrilous.

  3. Being physically or emotionally injurious; characterized by repeated violence or other abuse.

More examples

In context

  • All they could ever do was to shout abusive inanities at me.

  • "Zero Tolerance. Aggressive and abusive behavior will not be tolerated. Our team are here to help, not hurt," the signs read.

  • I am […]necessitated to use the word Parliament improperly, according to the abusive acceptation thereof.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The teacher was fired after complaints about his blank language and threatening behavior toward students.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

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