2 syllables: a, bused. Stress on bused.
uh-BYOOZD
/əˈbjuzd/
abused is pronounced uh-BYOOZD (/əˈbjuzd/). It has two syllables (a-bused), with the stress on "bused". Abused is the past-participle and past-tense form of abuse, used as an adjective or verb. It denotes having suffered harm or mistreatment, typically at the hands of another, or having been treated with cruel or improper use. In grammar, it functions both as a verb (abused someone) and as a modifier (an abused child), with stress patterns shifting by syntactic role.
Abused is the past-participle and past-tense form of abuse, used as an adjective or verb. It denotes having suffered harm or mistreatment, typically at the hands of another, or having been treated with cruel or improper use. In grammar, it functions both as a verb (abused someone) and as a modifier (an abused child), with stress patterns shifting by syntactic role.
"- The child was abused and needed protection."
"- He abused his position for personal gain."
"- They felt emotionally abused after the argument."
You say /əˈbjuːzd/ in US/UK/AU. Start with a schwa in the first syllable, then a clear 'byoo' sound (phonemically /bjʊ/ or /bjuː/ with the 'b' and 'j' blending into a Y-like glide), and finish with a voiced 'zd' cluster. Tense, even vowel length on the second syllable, and keep the final z sound slightly elongated in careful speech. IPA: əˈbjuːzd.
Common errors include: misplacing stress (say ab-USED instead of a-BUSED), pronouncing the second syllable as /zuːz/ or /zoːzd/ missing the /bj/ blend, and softening the final /d/ into a /t/ or a syllabic vowel. Correct by maintaining the /bj/ cluster with a small, brief 'y' glide and finishing with a voiced /d/ (not a /t/). Practice the sequence: schwa + /bjʊ/ or /bjʊ/ + /d/.
In US and UK, you’ll hear /əˈbjuːzd/ with similar rhotics but minor vowel quality differences: US may have a tighter /r/-like quality due to rhotic influence in surrounding sounds; UK tends toward a crisper /juː/ with a slightly shorter /juː/ depending on region; AU generally matches US phonology but with a more centralized schwa in quick speech. Across all, the /bj/ blend remains intact.
The difficulty lies in the /bj/ cluster after the initial schwa and the rapid transition into the /zd/ ending. Many learners collapse the /bj/ into /b/ or /j/ alone, producing /əˈbudz/ or /əˈbjudz/. Practice by isolating the glide: /ə/ + /bjuː/ + /zd/ and then reduce the release of /d/ into a crisp /d/. Also, maintain voicing for /z/ rather than turning it into /s/.
Its key feature is the unstressed first syllable followed by a strong second-syllable stress on /bjuːzd/. The /j/ glide after /b/ and the rounded high back vowel /uː/ create a distinctive /bjʊ/ or /bjuː/ combination that many learners mispronounce as /bw/ or /duː/. Maintaining the stress on the second syllable with a clear /juː/ and the final /d/ requires careful timing.
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- US: rhoticity influences surrounding vowels; keep /r/ absence after /b/; /ə/ is shallow; /juː/ is a long, rounded diphthong. - UK: crisper /juː/ with slightly shorter duration; /ə/ remains unstressed and quick; slight non-rhotic tendencies in casual speech. - AU: similar to US but with more centralized vowels in rapid speech; keep /z/ voiced. IPA references: US /əˈbjuːzd/, UK /əˈbjuːzd/, AU /əˈbjuːzd/.
Abused comes from the verb abuse, which traces to the Old French abuse (“to deceive, misuse, take advantage of”), from late Latin abūsum, from Latin abusus meaning “a destroying, waste, misuse.” The core root is Latin ab- “away, from” plus uti “to use,” signaling use away from proper or rightful purposes. In Middle English, abuse acquired more concrete senses of improper, cruel, or improper treatment. By 14th–15th centuries, abuse in English began to mean to misuse or to mis-treat; by the 16th–17th centuries, the adjective form abused emerged to describe someone or something that had endured such harm in the past. In modern usage, abused most commonly appears as the past tense of the verb abuse, but as an adjective it often pairs with nouns to specify victims (abused child, abused partner) and is central to discussions of power, harm, and social welfare.
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Words that rhyme with "abused"
-sed sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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