abusive
- adjective
- /əˈbjuːsɪv/
- NSFW
- He became verbally abusive, and I ordered Billy out of the house.
- abusive language
- verbally abusive
- abusive behavior
And you, you couldn't be other than abusive in your response to that.
- And you, you couldn't be other than abusive in your response to that.
- Because they need to borrow money from some abusive men in the neighborhood.
- I've, I've been very abusive emotionally, which I don't do today.
- Any kind of abusive language is unacceptable, all right?
- So there is a correlation between abusive controlling relationships and cults.
- I, I want them serving and loving their spouse, not being abusive to their spouse and kids.
- He attracted men that were abusive to him.
- And it's a really mean and devious and abusive situation for those women and those children.
- And by the way, she is intimidated and afraid of your abusive nature.
- And we find that her family winds up being, you know, dismissive, abusive to her.
- But I want to highlight more specifically verbally abusive because I think it's so sneaky.
- Maybe I can let go of a marriage that is abusive.
- That woman thought those non abusive days were joy.
- But the romance was abusive, let's be let's just say it.
Examples
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I need to identify ways in which I am disrespectful or abusive to myself and others around me.
Academic text (1999) -
...I think I've just about had it with your abusive attitude.
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There are very real reasons why people stay in abusive relationships.
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And he got really abusive towards the end.
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Any kind of abusive language is unacceptable, all right?
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Now, there's no need to be abusive.
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For instance, in response to an abusive coach, both groups were similarly punitive.
Academic text (1996) -
I mean, he's like incredibly verbally abusive as well.
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Acts of horizontal violence can range from intimidating body language to sarcastic comments and abusive language.
Academic text (2011) -
Most of us have faced an abusive supervisor at some point in our professional lives.
Synonyms
Likely to make people angry or upset
Being rude or saying things that hurt someone
Causing pain to someone's feelings or making them feel upset
Expressing an insulting, disrespectful view of someone or something
Saying rude and untrue things to hurt someone's reputation
Very rude and likely to make people feel angry or hurt
Making people feel ashamed in public with strong criticism
Very insulting and likely to deeply offend people
Antonyms
How Abusive
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Abusive comes from the word abuse, which originally meant 'to use wrongly' and had the parts ab- 'away' and use 'to use'. So an abusive remark is like 'using words wrongly' to hurt or insult someone.