Meanings
-
1
adj
characterized by physical or psychological maltreatment
Abusive punishment.
Thesaurus
Synonyms
Opposites
abuselessnonabusiveunabusive
Word family
Derived forms
abusivelyabusivenessabusivity
Related forms
abuser
Etymology
First attested in the 1530s. From French abusif, from Latin abūsīvus, from abusus + -ivus (“-ive”). Equivalent to abuse + -ive.
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