Misused
[mɪs'ju:zd]
Definition
(adj.) used incorrectly or carelessly or for an improper purpose; 'misused words are often laughable but one weeps for misused talents' .
Editor: Sweeney--From WordNet
Examples
- He will get into worse trouble if he often misuses his large and heavy hand as he has misused it here. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Another misused word is the Roman term _proletariat_, which in modern jargon means all the unpropertied people in a modern state. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Maybe he sent me what little I have through that other one that misused the gun. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- I was confused when I spoke just now, the Major said after a pause, and I misused the word authority. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Methinks, holy father, said he, the instrument wants one string, and the rest have been somewhat misused. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
Editor: Sweeney