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Antonyms for abusive

Grammar : Adj
Spell : uh-byoo-siv
Phonetic Transcription : əˈbyu sɪv

Definition of abusive

Origin :
  • 1530s (implied in abusively), originally "improper," from Middle French abusif, from Latin abusivus, from abus-, past participle stem of abuti (see abuse (v.)). Meaning "full of abuse" is from 1580s. Abuseful was used 17c., and Shakespeare has abusious ("Taming of the Shrew," 1594). Related: Abusiveness.
  • adj exhibiting unkind behavior or words
Example sentences :
  • Many replies were made to Mr. Gladstone's pamphlet that were violent and abusive.
  • Extract from : « The Grand Old Man » by Richard B. Cook
  • Lady Flo: Only that your husband is inciting mine to be abusive.
  • Extract from : « The Strand Magazine, Volume V, Issue 25, January 1893 » by Various
  • You are abusive, Ctesippus, said Dionysodorus, you are abusive!
  • Extract from : « Euthydemus » by Plato
  • The deputy followed me, indulging in a tirade of most abusive language.
  • Extract from : « The Prison Chaplaincy, And Its Experiences » by Hosea Quinby
  • The abusive term for all that is old and rude is already Gothic, Goths.
  • Extract from : « Erasmus and the Age of Reformation » by Johan Huizinga
  • The European is loud, contemptuous, and abusive; the Malay cool and vindictive.
  • Extract from : « The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido » by Henry Keppel
  • Against the Church and the monks his language is as abusive as that of the rest.
  • Extract from : « The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy » by Jacob Burckhardt
  • How if, as soon as Ernest came in, the tailor were to become violent and abusive?
  • Extract from : « The Way of All Flesh » by Samuel Butler
  • Abusive of all, save that one he was engaged in, blaming the world for his failures.
  • Extract from : « Watch Yourself Go By » by Al. G. Field
  • But, strange to say, in spite of his being so abusive, his eyes wandered about uneasily.
  • Extract from : « Virgin Soil » by Ivan S. Turgenev

Synonyms for abusive

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019