Abuse
Abuse verb - To criticize harshly and usually publicly.
Usage example: a demanding, difficult patient who constantly abuses the nurses and aides
Common collocations
| attack | abuse attack | lash attack |
Both words in one sentence
- Her relationship with Mitchell goes pretty well, until he goes insane thinking he's destined to be killed by a werewolf, leading him to lash out and verbally abuse her.
Source: Domestic Abuse -
Nora believes that the repressed emotions concerning prior abuse makes her werewolf more vicious, as it uses her anger to lash out much more violently.
Source: Series / Being Human (US) - The abovementioned main character also endures abuse from government authorities, and is thus driven to lash out against them physically.
Cite this Source
Lash and Abuse. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/abuse/lash
Abuse & Lash. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/abuse/lash>.
Lash or Abuse. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/abuse/lash.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "abuse" and "lash" have occurred on timeline