Abuser

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /əˈbjuː.zə/

Definitions

1. A person who engages in harmful patterns of behavior toward individuals or substances, often inflicting pain or damage through manipulation or addiction
2. Someone who inflicts harm or cruelty on others through physical or emotional means ; a person who consumes drugs or alcohol excessively or improperly
3. An individual who causes injury or suffering by harmful actions or neglect toward others ; one who uses substances in a damaging or excessive manner

Etymology: "Abuser" is a straightforward formation: the verb "abuse" with the agent suffix "-er," which turns a verb into the name of the person who performs its action, as in "baker" or "driver." The verb itself came into English from Old French "abuser" and before that from Latin "abusus," the past participle of "abuti," meaning to use up or misuse. Its root sense was therefore about using something wrongly or excessively, and the idea of mistreating people grew out of that broader sense of misuse. The suffix has a longer ancestry. The "-er" ending descends through Middle English and Old English "-ere," which goes back to Proto-Germanic "*-ārijaz," itself borrowed in the Latin pattern "-ārius." The same ending turns up in countless English agent nouns, so the word is a fairly simple compound of an imported verb and a long-established native suffix.

Synonyms: mistreater, oppressor

Antonyms: protector, defender