abuse noun.

This has developed a sinister violent meaning, 'maltreatment or (especially sexual) assault of a person', and is now widely familiar in the specific context of child abuse, of which various aspects include physical abuse, domestic abuse, ritual abuse, sexual abuse, and even satanic abuse. At the same time its older meaning, 'misuse or improper use', has been greatly extended in explicit combinations such as alcohol abuse, drug abuse, heroin abuse, solvent abuse, steroid abuse, substance abuse, etc., all associated with harmful or narcotic substances. Few semantic developments reflect such appalling social circumstances as these.

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