Bullying vs. Abuse — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman & Urooj Arif — Updated on March 24, 2024
Bullying involves repetitive intimidation, typically among peers, focusing on exerting power. Abuse is a broader term, covering harm or distress through misuse of power in various contexts.
Difference Between Bullying and Abuse
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Bullying often occurs in social settings like schools or online, where individuals or groups seek to dominate or belittle others through repeated aggressive behavior. This can include physical, verbal, or psychological tactics to intimidate or ostracize the victim. Whereas, abuse spans a wider spectrum, encompassing physical, emotional, or psychological harm inflicted by one person onto another in different settings, including domestic, workplace, or institutional environments. Abuse can be a single act or a series of actions that cause significant harm to the victim.
While bullying is primarily identified among children and adolescents, aiming to assert dominance, isolate, or control peers, abuse transcends age groups, affecting elders and children alike, and often involves significant control and power imbalances within relationships. On the other hand, abuse scenarios may involve family members, intimate partners, caretakers, or authority figures, and the impact can deeply affect the victim's mental and physical well-being.
Bullying typically refers to actions that can cause distress, fear, or harm to another individual's social status or well-being without necessarily implying a legal violation. Whereas abuse, especially when it involves physical harm or severe emotional distress, can lead to legal consequences for the perpetrator, highlighting its recognized severity under the law.
One key aspect of bullying is its repetitive nature, aiming to continually assert power over the victim over time. On the other hand, abuse can be a single event or a pattern of behavior, but both have the intention and effect of causing significant harm, whether emotionally, physically, or psychologically.
The motivation behind bullying often stems from a desire to intimidate or control within a peer group, influenced by factors such as social hierarchies, jealousy, or insecurity. In contrast, abuse may be driven by a desire to exert control, inflict pain, or manipulate, often reflecting deeper issues of power, anger, or mental health problems within the abuser.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Repetitive intimidation among peers.
Broad harm or distress through power misuse.
Contexts
Schools, online, among peers.
Domestic, workplace, institutional, among others.
Legal Consequences
Rarely involves legal action.
Often involves legal consequences.
Nature
Repetitive and aims to assert power.
Can be a single event or repetitive.
Motivation
Desire to dominate, isolate, or control peers.
Desire to exert control, inflict pain, manipulate.
Impact
Social status or well-being.
Mental, physical well-being.
Relationship
Among peers.
Family, partners, authority figures, etc.
Compare with Definitions
Bullying
Social behavior involving the use of power to control or harm others.
Bullying in the workplace can manifest as unwarranted criticism and exclusion.
Abuse
Any act that deliberately harms or intimidates another person.
Elder abuse often goes unreported, occurring within homes and institutions.
Bullying
Repeated aggression intended to harm or intimidate someone perceived as vulnerable.
The student faced bullying at school through constant name-calling and exclusion.
Abuse
Mistreatment by one person towards another that causes harm or distress.
Emotional abuse in relationships can include constant criticism and control.
Bullying
Behavior by an individual or group that aims to make others feel inferior.
Peer bullying can include mocking someone’s appearance or interests.
Abuse
A pattern of assault or maltreatment towards another person.
Domestic abuse can escalate from threats to physical violence.
Bullying
Actions aimed at belittling or intimidating someone repeatedly.
Online bullying often involves spreading rumors or posting hurtful comments.
Abuse
Behavior that exploits another person for personal gain or satisfaction.
Financial abuse involves controlling someone's access to money without their consent.
Bullying
A pattern of making fun of or threatening someone in a repeated manner.
She was subjected to bullying through persistent teasing about her grades.
Abuse
Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other types of aggression.
Bullying
Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual.
Abuse
To use improperly or excessively; misuse
Abuse alcohol.
Abuse a privilege.
Bullying
A person who is habitually cruel or overbearing, especially to smaller, weaker, less popular, or more vulnerable people.
Abuse
To hurt or injure by maltreatment; ill-use
Animals that were abused by a negligent owner.
Bullying
A hired ruffian; a thug.
Abuse
To assail with insulting or hurtful words; revile.
Bullying
A pimp.
Abuse
(Obsolete) To deceive or trick.
Bullying
(Archaic) A fine person.
Abuse
Improper or excessive use; misuse
Abuse of authority.
Drug abuse.
Bullying
(Archaic) A sweetheart.
Abuse
Rough treatment or use
Shoes that have taken a lot of abuse.
Bullying
To hurt or intimidate (someone) in the manner of a bully.
Abuse
Physical maltreatment or violence
Spousal abuse.
Bullying
To make (one's way) aggressively.
Abuse
Insulting or hurtful language, especially when used to threaten or demoralize
Subjected her subordinates to verbal abuse.
Bullying
To behave like a bully.
Abuse
An unjust or wrongful practice
A government that commits abuses against its citizens.
Bullying
To force one's way aggressively or by intimidation
“They bully into line at the gas pump” (Martin Gottfried).
Abuse
Misuse; improper use; perversion.
Bullying
Excellent; splendid
Did a bully job of persuading the members.
Abuse
(obsolete) A delusion; an imposture; misrepresentation; deception.
Bullying
Used to express approval
Bully for you!.
Abuse
Coarse, insulting speech; abusive language; language that unjustly or angrily vilifies.
Bullying
An act of intimidating a person to do something, especially such repeated coercion.
Abuse
Catachresis.
Bullying
Persistent acts intended to make life unpleasant for another person.
Bullying is a punishable offense in schools.
Abuse
Physical maltreatment; injury; cruel treatment.
Bullying
Present participle of bully
Abuse
(transitive) To put to a wrong use; to misapply; to use improperly; to misuse; to use for a wrong purpose or end; to pervert
He abused his authority.
Bullying
Noisily domineering; tending to browbeat others.
Abuse
(transitive) To injure; to maltreat; to hurt; to treat with cruelty, especially repeatedly.
Bullying
The act of intimidating a weaker person to make them do something
Abuse
(transitive) To attack with coarse language; to insult; to revile; malign; to speak in an offensive manner to or about someone; to disparage.
Bullying
Noisily domineering; tending to browbeat others
Abuse
(transitive) To imbibe a drug for a purpose other than it was intended; to intentionally take more of a drug than was prescribed for recreational reasons; to take illegal drugs habitually.
Abuse
To violate; defile; to rape; (reflexive) to masturbate.
Abuse
To deceive; to trick; to impose on; misuse the confidence of.
Abuse
Disuse.
Abuse
To put to a wrong use; to misapply; to misuse; to put to a bad use; to use for a wrong purpose or end; to pervert; as, to abuse inherited gold; to make an excessive use of; as, to abuse one's authority.
This principle (if one may so abuse the word) shoots rapidly into popularity.
Abuse
To use ill; to maltreat; to act injuriously to; to punish or to tax excessively; to hurt; as, to abuse prisoners, to abuse one's powers, one's patience.
Abuse
To revile; to reproach coarsely; to disparage.
The . . . tellers of news abused the general.
Abuse
To dishonor.
Abuse
To violate; to ravish.
Abuse
To deceive; to impose on.
Their eyes red and staring, cozened with a moist cloud, and abused by a double object.
Abuse
Improper treatment or use; application to a wrong or bad purpose; misuse; as, an abuse of our natural powers; an abuse of civil rights, or of privileges or advantages; an abuse of language.
Liberty may be endangered by the abuses of liberty, as well as by the abuses of power.
Abuse
Physical ill treatment; injury.
Abuse
A corrupt practice or custom; offense; crime; fault; as, the abuses in the civil service.
Abuse after disappeared without a struggle..
Abuse
Vituperative words; coarse, insulting speech; abusive language; virulent condemnation; reviling.
The two parties, after exchanging a good deal of abuse, came to blows.
Abuse
Violation; rape; as, abuse of a female child.
Or is it some abuse, and no such thing?
Abuse
Cruel or inhumane treatment
Abuse
A rude expression intended to offend or hurt;
When a student made a stupid mistake he spared them no abuse
They yelled insults at the visiting team
Abuse
Improper or excessive use
Abuse
Treat badly;
This boss abuses his workers
She is always stepping on others to get ahead
Abuse
Change the inherent purpose or function of something;
Don't abuse the system
The director of the factory misused the funds intended for the health care of his workers
Abuse
Use foul or abusive language towards;
The actress abused the policeman who gave her a parking ticket
The angry mother shouted at the teacher
Common Curiosities
Can bullying be considered a form of abuse?
Yes, bullying can be considered a form of psychological or emotional abuse.
Are there legal consequences for bullying and abuse?
Abuse often involves legal consequences due to its severity, while bullying may not always lead to legal action.
How do bullying and abuse impact individuals?
Both can significantly harm an individual's mental and physical well-being, but abuse often has a broader and more severe impact.
Is it possible for someone to experience both bullying and abuse?
Yes, individuals can experience both bullying and abuse, sometimes simultaneously.
What motivates individuals to engage in bullying or abuse?
Factors include a desire to exert control, insecurity, jealousy, or deeper issues of power and mental health.
What are the common contexts for bullying and abuse?
Bullying often occurs in schools or online, whereas abuse can occur in domestic, workplace, or institutional settings.
What differentiates bullying from abuse?
Bullying is repetitive intimidation typically among peers, while abuse is a broader term covering various forms of harm or distress.
What are the psychological effects of bullying and abuse?
They can lead to anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and other mental health issues.
Can abuse be unintentional?
While abuse involves deliberate harm, neglect can sometimes be seen as an unintentional form of abuse.
What age groups are affected by bullying and abuse?
Bullying primarily affects children and adolescents, while abuse can affect all age groups.
What role does power play in bullying and abuse?
Both involve misuse of power, though abuse encompasses a broader range of power dynamics.
How do the goals of bullying and abuse differ?
Bullying often aims to belittle or control peers, while abuse may aim to inflict pain, control, or manipulate.
How can bullying and abuse be addressed and prevented?
Through education, intervention programs, support systems, and legal measures.
Can online behavior be considered bullying or abuse?
Yes, online behaviors can constitute bullying or abuse, depending on their nature and impact.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
