Emily Dickinson Lexicon

A-BUSE', n.

1. Ill use; improper treatment or employment; application to a wrong purpose; as, an abuse of our natural powers an abuse of civil rights, or of religious privileges; abuse of advantages, &c. Liberty may be endangered by the abuses of liberty, as well as by the abuses of power. – Federalist, Madison.
2. A corrupt practice or custom; as, the abuses of government.
3. Rude speech; reproachful language addressed to a person; contumely; reviling words. – Milton.
4. Seduction. After the abuse he forsook me. – Sidney.
5. Perversion of meaning; improper use or application; as, an abuse of words.