Other forms: misused, misusing, misuses
Misuse is using something wrongly or for the wrong purpose. Misuse of funds, drug misuse, misuse the word.
It covers honest error and deliberate abuse alike, which is why it is such a useful word in reports — misuse of funds does not say whether anybody meant it. Substance misuse is the standard clinical term where abuse was once used. As a verb the stress moves to the second syllable. Note misuser; and that misuse is milder than abuse.
1nounmisuseUsing something wrongly or for the wrong purpose.
“The mayor was accused of the misuse of public money.”
2verbuseTo use something wrongly.
“Many people misuse the word 'literally' when they mean 'really'.”
misuse is a wrong use.
Mis- plus use, from Latin uti, to use. The prefix mis- means wrongly and is native English, so the word is half English and half Latin.
Old French
us
Middle English
use
English
use
English, today
misuse
Built from
From mis- + use noun. use comes from Middle English use, from Old French us. Middle English use, from Old French us, from Latin ūsus (“use, custom, skill, habit”), from past participle stem of ūtor (“use”). Displaced native Middle English note (“use”) (see note) from Old English notu; Middle English nutte (“use”) from Old English nytt; as well as Old English fricu and Old English sidu.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA