to misuse
- verb
- /ˌmɪsˈjuːz/
- Don't misuse your talents.
- misuse funds
- misuse alcohol
- misuse power
That the technique that she developed could be misused in horrible ways.
- That the technique that she developed could be misused in horrible ways.
- And yet it seems we continue to misuse and abuse that same technology.
- They really, really, really misuse my goodwill towards them.
- Fire isn't very powerful tool, but if you misuse it, it will burn the house down, right?
- And he's amoral as an ad man because he's misusing the superpower.
- See, I think science is being abused and misused.
- We should stop misusing the power that we have over these influenceable models.
- So it's by any count, millions of Americans either addicted to and or misusing opioids.
- The word retribution is, I think often misused.
- The reason it's an issue is ordinary people wouldn't have the ability to challenge institutions who misuse AI.
- When we find out that someone that a driver is misusing alcohol or drugs, we take their license away from them.
- We shouldn't waste or waste or misuse the little we have.
Examples
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Yet analysts (Hafez included) and journalists especially continue to misuse and overuse the term.
Academic text (2015) -
He was fired after he was found to misuse the company's resources for personal projects.
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You are not allowed to misuse customer funds.
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All of these words have a meaning and if you misuse them, you get yourself into a lot of trouble.
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And yet it seems we continue to misuse and abuse that same technology.
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See to it that I don't misuse the money.
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I obviously misused the word.
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The power of this goodie is so great, it must be ever kept from those who would misuse it.
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During this period, public funds were misused to pile up military equipment for terrorists.
Academic text (2017) -
Opioids, even prescribed ones, if misused, the consequences can be deadly.
Synonyms
To use or spend something carelessly and without good reason
To use something in a way that harms
To use money, time, or chances in a foolish way
Change the meaning or purpose so it becomes wrong
To use something in a wrong or unsuitable way
To take money or things you were trusted with and use them yourself
To spend time or money in a wasteful way
How Correctly Used
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The verb misuse is built from mis- 'wrong' plus use 'to employ', the same mis- you see in mistake or mislead, so to misuse something is simply to 'use it wrongly' or for the wrong purpose.