Misuse

Misuse

Noun / Verb · /mɪsˈjuːz/ (verb) /ˈmɪs.juːs/ (noun)

Definition

(Verb) to use something in an incorrect, improper, or harmful way; to treat badly or cruelly; (Noun) incorrect, improper, or harmful use of something.

Origin

From mis- (wrongly, badly) + use (from Old French user, from Vulgar Latin *usare, from Latin usus, use, from uti, to use). The compound means wrong use or improper use. Misuse has been in English since the 15th century. The noun-verb stress pattern — noun on the first syllable (MIS-use), verb on the second (mis-USE) — is a characteristic English pattern shared by words like misuse, abuse, refuse, protest, record, and contest. The same noun-verb stress shift applying to the mis- prefix compound (MIS-use / mis-USE) as to many two-syllable noun-verb pairs.