Word
abusively
Phoneticsabu·sive·ly
UK/ɐbjˈuːsɪvli/
Definition
adv. in a way that is cruel, unfair, or treats someone badly. You use this to describe behavior that is mean or harmful.
adv. in a manner that is cruel, unfair, or harmful; treating someone with excessive harshness or violence.
Examples
“He was fired for speaking abusively to his colleagues.”
“The manager was reprimanded for abusively criticizing the team during the meeting.”
“The witness claimed that the defendant had abusively manipulated the legal process to delay the trial and exhaust the plaintiff's resources.”
Examples
simple
“He was fired for speaking abusively to his colleagues.”
contextual
“The manager was reprimanded for abusively criticizing the team during the meeting.”
complex
“The witness claimed that the defendant had abusively manipulated the legal process to delay the trial and exhaust the plaintiff's resources.”
Etymology
From abusive + -ly.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/abusively