21+ What Words Are Verbal Abuse. Verbal abuse is the only type of abuse that can affect every single person. Verbal abuse is the use of words to cause harm to the person being spoken to. It is difficult to define and may take many forms. Get the definition of verbal abuse. Most verbally abusive statements are camouflaged by tone of voice, choice of words, body language, the abuser insisting it's for your own . It can sometimes escalate into physical abuse, too. A victim of domestic violence is being verbally degraded by an abuser. It is verbal and emotional abuse. Find out what is considered verbal abuse. Verbal abuse is finally being recognized as a form of domestic violence and as the behavior that usually precedes physical violence.