47+ What Words Are Verbal Abuse. A harvard study found, for example, that parents who yell frequently are the ones most likely to . Verbal abuse is the use of words to cause harm to the person being spoken to. Arguments are normal, even healthy, in a relationship. But if you educate yourself on verbal abuse and its nasty symptoms, you can avoid an avalanche of future emotional pain. Find 136 ways to say verbal abuse, along with antonyms, related words, and example sentences at thesaurus.com, the world's most trusted free thesaurus. Synonyms for verbal abuse (other words and phrases for verbal abuse). It may involve obvious aggression: Let's expand our definition of verbal . Verbal abuse is finally being recognized as a form of domestic violence and as the behavior that usually precedes physical violence. Verbal and emotional abuse takes a toll.