abusive
Prone to treat someone badly by coarse, insulting words or other maltreatmentProne to treat someone badly by coarse, insulting words or other maltreatment; vituperative; reproachful; scurrilous.
» Tom is a very abusive person.
Meaning
6 sensesProne to treat someone badly by coarse, insulting words or other maltreatment; vituperative; reproachful; scurrilous.
All they could ever do was to shout abusive inanities at me.
Being physically or emotionally injurious; characterized by repeated violence or other abuse.
Wrongly used; perverted; misapplied; unjust; illegal.
(obsolete)Tending to deceive; fraudulent.
(archaic)Tending to misuse; practising or containing abuse.
бра́нныйbránnyj, руга́тельныйrugátelʹnyj, ма́терныйmáternyj
(archaic)Catachrestic.
- characterized by physical or psychological maltreatment
- expressing offensive reproach
Examples
144 sentencesTom is a very abusive person.
I had never received such an abusive letter before.
Tom can be abusive at times.
Tom is an abusive person.
Tom became abusive.
Translations
3 languagesBy meaning 1
Origin
First attested in the 1530s. From French abusif, from Latin abūsīvus, from abusus + -ivusFirst attested in the 1530s. From French abusif, from Latin abūsīvus, from abusus + -ivus (“-ive”). Equivalent to abuse + -ive.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
more abusive, most abusive| Comparative | more abusive Lesson |
|---|---|
| Superlative | most abusive Lesson |
regular
Synonyms
10 synonyms- expressing offensive reproach:opprobriousscurrilous
Antonyms
3 antonymsWord family
4 related wordsLessons for this word
2 lessons- A2Comparatives — Because it has a comparative form
- A2Superlatives — Because it has a superlative form