abusar

Catalan

Etymology

From abús +‎ -ar.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Central) [ə.βuˈza]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ə.buˈza]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [a.buˈzaɾ]
• IPA^(key): (Northwestern) [a.βuˈza]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a(ɾ)
• Hyphenation: a‧bu‧sar

Verb

abusar (first-person singular present abuso, first-person singular preterite abusí, past participle abusat)

1. (intransitive, abusar de) to abuse (use improperly)
2. to rape

   Synonym: violar

Conjugation

    Central Catalan conjugation of abusar (first conjugation)

infinitive			abusar
gerund			abusant
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		abusat		abusada
		plural		abusats		abusades
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	abuso	abuses	abusa	abusem	abuseu	abusen
	imperfect	abusava	abusaves	abusava	abusàvem	abusàveu	abusaven
	future	abusaré	abusaràs	abusarà	abusarem	abusareu	abusaran
	preterite	abusí	abusares	abusà	abusàrem	abusàreu	abusaren
	conditional	abusaria	abusaries	abusaria	abusaríem	abusaríeu	abusarien
subjunctive		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	abusi	abusis	abusi	abusem	abuseu	abusin
	imperfect	abusés	abusessis	abusés	abuséssim	abuséssiu	abusessin
imperative		—	tu	vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres vós	vostès
	affirmative	—	abusa	abusi	abusem	abuseu	abusin
	negative (no)	—	no abusis	no abusi	no abusem	no abuseu	no abusin

Related terms

• abusador
• abusiu

Further reading

• “abusar”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Hiligaynon

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish abusar.

Noun

abusár

1. misuse, abuse

Verb

abusár

1. to misuse or abuse, to take advantage of

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep

Proto-Indo-European *-o

Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó

Proto-Italic *ap

Latin abder.

Latin ab-

Proto-Indo-European *h₃eyt-der.?

Proto-Italic *oitōr

Latin ūtor

Latin abūtor

Proto-Indo-European *-tus

Proto-Italic *-tus

Latin -tus

Latin abūsusbor.

Portuguese abuso

Proto-Italic *-āzi

▲

Latin -ereinflu.

Latin -āre

Old Galician-Portuguese -ar

Portuguese -ar

Portuguese abusar

From abuso + -ar.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /a.buˈza(ʁ)/ [a.buˈza(h)]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /a.buˈza(ʁ)/ [a.buˈza(h)]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /a.buˈza(ɾ)/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /a.buˈza(ʁ)/ [a.buˈza(χ)]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /a.buˈza(ɻ)/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɐ.buˈzaɾ/ [ɐ.βuˈzaɾ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɐ.buˈzaɾ/ [ɐ.βuˈzaɾ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɐ.buˈza.ɾi/

• Hyphenation: a‧bu‧sar

Verb

abusar (first-person singular present abuso, first-person singular preterite abusei, past participle abusado)

1. (transitive) to abuse (to put to a wrong use) [with de]
2. (transitive) to overindulge [with de]

   Synonym: exagerar

3. (transitive) to rape (to force sexual intercourse) [with direct object; or with de]

   Synonyms: estuprar, violar

Conjugation

    Conjugation of abusar (See Appendix:Portuguese verbs)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	abusar
Personal	abusar	abusares	abusar	abusarmos	abusardes	abusarem
Gerund
	abusando
Past participle
Masculine	abusado			abusados
Feminine	abusada			abusadas
Indicative
Present	abuso	abusas	abusa	abusamos	abusais	abusam
Imperfect	abusava	abusavas	abusava	abusávamos	abusáveis	abusavam
Preterite	abusei	abusaste	abusou	abusamos1, abusámos2	abusastes	abusaram
Pluperfect	abusara	abusaras	abusara	abusáramos	abusáreis	abusaram
Future	abusarei	abusarás	abusará	abusaremos	abusareis	abusarão
Conditional	abusaria	abusarias	abusaria	abusaríamos	abusaríeis	abusariam
Subjunctive
Present	abuse	abuses	abuse	abusemos	abuseis	abusem
Imperfect	abusasse	abusasses	abusasse	abusássemos	abusásseis	abusassem
Future	abusar	abusares	abusar	abusarmos	abusardes	abusarem
Imperative
Affirmative		abusa	abuse	abusemos	abusai	abusem
Negative (não)		não abuses	não abuse	não abusemos	não abuseis	não abusem

¹Brazilian Portuguese.
²European Portuguese.

Derived terms

• abusado
• abusador

Descendants

• Kabuverdianu: abuza

Further reading

• “abusar”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “abusar”, in Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisboa: Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, 2001–2026
• “abusar”, in Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “abusar”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026
• “abusar”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep

Proto-Indo-European *-o

Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó

Proto-Italic *ap

Latin abder.

Latin ab-

Proto-Indo-European *h₃eyt-der.?

Proto-Italic *oitōr

Latin ūtor

Latin abūtor

Proto-Indo-European *-tus

Proto-Italic *-tus

Latin -tus

Latin abūsusbor.

Spanish abuso

Spanish -ar

Spanish abusar

From abuso + -ar.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /abuˈsaɾ/ [a.β̞uˈsaɾ]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: a‧bu‧sar

Verb

abusar (first-person singular present abuso, first-person singular preterite abusé, past participle abusado)

1. to abuse, to betray
2. to misuse
3. (pronominal, Guatemala) to get clever, to get smart, to wise up

   Synonyms: espabilarse, avivarse

Conjugation

    Conjugation of abusar (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			abusar
gerund			abusando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		abusado		abusada
		plural		abusados		abusadas
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	abuso	abusastú abusásvos	abusa	abusamos	abusáis	abusan
	imperfect	abusaba	abusabas	abusaba	abusábamos	abusabais	abusaban
	preterite	abusé	abusaste	abusó	abusamos	abusasteis	abusaron
	future	abusaré	abusarás	abusará	abusaremos	abusaréis	abusarán
	conditional	abusaría	abusarías	abusaría	abusaríamos	abusaríais	abusarían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	abuse	abusestú abusésvos2	abuse	abusemos	abuséis	abusen
	imperfect (ra)	abusara	abusaras	abusara	abusáramos	abusarais	abusaran
	imperfect (se)	abusase	abusases	abusase	abusásemos	abusaseis	abusasen
	future1	abusare	abusares	abusare	abusáremos	abusareis	abusaren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		abusatú abusávos	abuse	abusemos	abusad	abusen
	negative		no abuses	no abuse	no abusemos	no abuséis	no abusen

¹Rare; now chiefly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tuteo-form for the present subjunctive.

    Selected combined forms of abusar

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive abusar	dative	abusarme	abusarte	abusarle, abusarse	abusarnos	abusaros	abusarles, abusarse
	accusative	abusarme	abusarte	abusarlo, abusarla, abusarse	abusarnos	abusaros	abusarlos, abusarlas, abusarse
with gerund abusando	dative	abusándome	abusándote	abusándole, abusándose	abusándonos	abusándoos	abusándoles, abusándose
	accusative	abusándome	abusándote	abusándolo, abusándola, abusándose	abusándonos	abusándoos	abusándolos, abusándolas, abusándose
with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative abusa	dative	abúsame	abúsate	abúsale	abúsanos	not used	abúsales
	accusative	abúsame	abúsate	abúsalo, abúsala	abúsanos	not used	abúsalos, abúsalas
with informal second-person singular voseo imperative abusá	dative	abusame	abusate	abusale	abusanos	not used	abusales
	accusative	abusame	abusate	abusalo, abusala	abusanos	not used	abusalos, abusalas
with formal second-person singular imperative abuse	dative	abúseme	not used	abúsele, abúsese	abúsenos	not used	abúseles
	accusative	abúseme	not used	abúselo, abúsela, abúsese	abúsenos	not used	abúselos, abúselas
with first-person plural imperative abusemos	dative	not used	abusémoste	abusémosle	abusémonos	abusémoos	abusémosles
	accusative	not used	abusémoste	abusémoslo, abusémosla	abusémonos	abusémoos	abusémoslos, abusémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative abusad	dative	abusadme	not used	abusadle	abusadnos	abusaos	abusadles
	accusative	abusadme	not used	abusadlo, abusadla	abusadnos	abusaos	abusadlos, abusadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative abusen	dative	abúsenme	not used	abúsenle	abúsennos	not used	abúsenles, abúsense
	accusative	abúsenme	not used	abúsenlo, abúsenla	abúsennos	not used	abúsenlos, abúsenlas, abúsense

Derived terms

• abusador
• abusar de

Related terms

• abusivo
• abusón

Descendants

• → Hiligaynon: abusar

Further reading

• “abusar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025