misuse
/mɪsˈjuːs/noun, verb
misuse is spelled M-I-S-U-S-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 14,106th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, misuse means “An incorrect, improper or unlawful use of something” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of misuse is misuses.
How many letters and syllables are in misuse?
| Letters | 6: M-I-S-U-S-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.5 times per million words; the 14,106th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is misuse?
Misuse appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 14,106th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce misuse?
- /mɪsˈjuːs/
As a verb (“To use (something) incorrectly”): /mɪsˈjuːz/.
Misuse has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-misuse.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-misuse2.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of misuse
- misuses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- misusing participle, present
- misused participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does misuse mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An incorrect, improper or unlawful use of something.
verb
- 1
To use (something) incorrectly.
- 2
To abuse or mistreat (something or someone).
- 3
To rape (a woman); later more generally, to sexually abuse (someone).
- 4
obsoleteTo abuse verbally, to insult.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Misuse in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | mésusage |
| German | Missbrauch, missbräuchliche Nutzung/Verwendung, Fehlbedienung, Fehlgebrauch, Zweckentfremdung , missbrauchen |
| Spanish | mal uso , abusar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does misuse come from?
From mis- + use (noun).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).