Talk:misuse

Does misuse mean the same thing as waste (verb)?

No, they are different. —Stephen 04:16, 3 March 2007 (UTC)

They are similar but not the same. When you waste something, you fail to get the most out of it. For example, if I throw away a pizza, I waste it, but I don't misuse it. When you misuse something, it means you're using it in a way it wasn't intended to be used (usually a bad way). For example, if I used a pizza as a weapon to beat someone up, that would be misusing it (you could argue whether or not that would be wasting it). Hope this helps a little bit. Let us continually learn wonderful new things about English, a beautiful everchanging language!!! :D

This, though, almost did not help. A better example would be spending money on wasting and misusing. For example, if I spend money on something I don't need, I waste it, not misuse it. If I don't spend my money at all, I probably misuse it, although it's actually saving money, on the contrary. That would help more. Thanks though.