abusive

adjectiveattested in dialogue

United Kingdom//əˈbjuː.sɪv//
United States//əˈbju.sɪv//
United States//əˈbju.zɪv//

Prone to treat someone badly by coarse, insulting words or other maltreatment; vituperative; reproachful; scurrilous.

adjective

1
Prone 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.
"Zero Tolerance. Aggressive and abusive behavior will not be tolerated. Our team are here to help, not hurt," the signs read.
2
obsoleteTending to deceive; fraudulent.
an abusive treaty
3
archaicTending to misuse; practising or containing abuse.
[…] to begin in this vacation the foundation of a trifling subject which might shroud in his leaves the abusive enormities of these our times.
the abusive prerogatives of his see
4
Being physically or emotionally injurious; characterized by repeated violence or other abuse.
5
Wrongly used; perverted; misapplied; unjust; illegal.
I am […]necessitated to use the word Parliament improperly, according to the abusive acceptation thereof.
6
archaicCatachrestic.

Etymology

First attested in the 1530s. From French abusif, from Latin abūsīvus, from abusus + -ivus (“-ive”). Equivalent to abuse + -ive.

Forms

comparative: more abusive
superlative: most abusive

abundant · Fully sufficient; found in copious supply; in great quantity;…abuse · Improper treatment or usage; application to a wrong or bad…abused · Having been a victim of some form of abuse, most commonly…

abusive · Prone to treat someone badly by coarse, insulting words or other maltreatment; vituperative; reproachful; scurrilous.

abyss · Hell; the bottomless pit; primeval chaos; a confined…ac · account; money of account Ac · The Acura Legend automobile.

The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.