101 Empowering Abusive Relationship Quotes to Provide Strength

If you are in an abusive bond, then strengthen yourself with encouraging abusive relationship quotes. Let these quotes be your guiding force to combat abuse.

Aastha Pahadia
Written by Aastha Pahadia , Certified Relationship Coach
Updated on May 28, 2024 | 01:42 PM IST | 1.2M
abusive relationship quotes
abusive relationship quotes

A toxic or abusive relationship takes a toll on the mental and physical well-being of the abuse survivor and leaves them doubting their individuality and self-worth. Whether you are struggling to deal with an abusive partner or healing from a devastating relationship- these 101 abusive relationship quotes will give you the strength, courage, and hope to sail through the sorrow. If you are finding ways to offer comfort and strength to your near and dear ones who are in such a relationship, then share these inspiring quotes to help them deal with such difficult situations. We've jotted down a list of 101 relationship abuse quotes that will provide survivors with the necessary courage and strength to combat the ill effects of abuse. Scroll down to read more!

101 Quotes on Abusive Relationships to Empower Yourself in Dark Times

 

abusive relationship quotes

Abusive Relationship Quotes to Provide Strength 

  1. “Emotional abuse poisons a relationship and infuses it with hostility, contempt, and hatred.” — Beverly Engel
  2. “If you alter your behavior because you are frightened of how your partner will react, you are being abused.” ? Sandra Horley
  3. “We should meet abuse by forbearance. Human nature is so constituted that if we take absolutely no notice of anger or abuse, the person indulging in it will soon weary of it and stop.” — Mahatma Gandhi
  4. “Emotional abuse is the silent marriage killer.” — Austin James
  5. “The disrespect and hatred each partner begins to feel leads to more and more emotional abuse and to each partner justifying inappropriate, even destructive, behavior.” —Beverly Engel
  6. “Emotional abuse is a non-physical behavior or attitude that controls, demeans, punishes or isolates a person.” — Dee Brown
  7. "An abusive relationship is like a house with no doors or windows, you feel trapped and suffocated." — Anonymous
  8. “Over time, anger can build up on the part of both abuser and victim, and emotional abuse can turn into physical violence.” — Beverly Engel
  9. “When dealing with a person or entity that gaslights, look at what they are doing rather than what they are saying. What they are saying means nothing; it is just talk. What they are doing is the issue.” — Stephanie A. Sarkis
  10. “Get pissed because you deserve more than this abuse. Emotional abuse is the gateway to all abuse. Get out!” — Tracy Malone
  11. “Controllers, abusers and manipulative people don’t question themselves. They don’t ask themselves if the problem is them. They always say the problem is someone else.” — Darlene Ouimet
  12. “The only thing worse than being in an abusive relationship is not realizing that you're in one.” — Anonymous
  13. “As the emotional abuse takes its toll and each partner becomes less and less self-assured, each clings to the relationship even more.” — Beverly Engel
  14. “An abusive relationship should be easy to identify though often one of the most difficult to end.” — Desmond Tutu
  15. “Do you feel alone in your relationship? Abusers isolate their partner from friends and family, and make them dependent financially, socially, and physically.” — Anonymous
  16. “In emotionally abusive relationships there is a determined intent to formulate statements or actions which leave a person feeling awful.” — Dee Brown
  17. “No matter how much a couple once loved each other, once emotional abuse becomes a consistent aspect of the relationship, that love is overshadowed by fear, anger, guilt, and shame.” — Beverly Engel
  18. “Gaslighters know that people like having a sense of stability and normalcy. Their goal is to uproot this and make you constantly question everything.” — Stephanie A. Sarkis
  19. "Abusive relationships are a dead-end street that lead nowhere but to bitterness, heartache, and regrets." - Unknown
  20. "There is no excuse for domestic violence and abuse, and no one should have to live in fear of the person they love." - David Cameron
  21. "An abusive relationship is like a cancer of the spirit." — Lorraine Nilon.
  22. “The scars from an abusive relationship may fade, but the memories will always be a reminder of what you survived.” — Anonymous
  23. “Abuse is a cycle that keeps spinning until someone has the courage to break it.” — Anonymous
  24. “The insidiousness and power of emotional abuse parallels the invisibility, strength, and purpose of a spider’s web.” — Jess Hill
  25. “You may develop physical or emotional reactions to swallowing your anger, such as depression, nightmares, emotional numbing, or eating and sleeping problems, which your partner may use as an excuse to belittle you further or make you feel crazy.” — Lundy Bancroft
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abusive relationship quotes

26. “Abuse is the means in which violence retards love.” — Inga Muscio

27. “With emotional abuse, the insults, insinuations, criticism, and accusations slowly eat away at the victim’s self-esteem until he or she is incapable of judging a situation realistically.” — Beverly Engel

28. “Emotional abuse is designed to undermine another’s sense of self. It is deliberate humiliation, with the intent to seize control of how others feel about themselves.” — Lorraine Nilon

29. “Poisonous relationships can alter our perception. You can spend many years thinking you’re worthless, you’re unappreciated.” — Steve Maraboli

30. “Emotional abuse cuts to the very core of a person, creating scars that may be longer lasting than physical ones.” — Beverly Engel

31. “Being single and happy is better than being sad and afraid in an abusive relationship.” — Anonymous

32. “A woman should never invest in a relationship she wouldn’t want for her daughter, nor allow any man to treat her in a way she would scold her son for.” — Charles J. Orlando

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33. “There are far too many silent sufferers. Not because they don’t yearn to reach out, but because they’ve tried and found no one who cares.” — Richelle E. Goodrich

34. “The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse.” — Edmund Burke

35. "An abusive relationship doesn't just affect the two people involved; it affects everyone around them." — Marti Noxonl

36. “An abusive relationship is like being in a war zone, constantly under attack and living in fear.” — Anonymous

37. “Sometimes, no matter how hard we try for someone and hope that they will get better in time – they never do. Abusive relationships shouldn’t have a key to your chambers of heart. Hold your key and keep it close. Don’t end up getting addicted to such pain or human beings – for that matter. You might not be Thor but they can surely be Loki & hold you prisoner to their trickster nature.” — Sijdah Hussain

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38. “An abusive relationship is like a storm that rages on, leaving destruction in its wake.” — Anonymous

39. “Friends say: ‘Leave him.’ But she knows it won’t be that easy. He will promise to change. He’ll get friends and relatives to feel sorry for him and pressure her to give him another chance. He’ll get severely depressed, causing her to worry whether he’ll be all right. And, depending on what style of abuser he is, she may know that he will become dangerous when she tries to leave him. She may even be concerned that he will try to take her children away from her, as some abusers do.” — Lundy Bancroft

40. “Abusive relationships are a thief that steals the dignity, self-worth, and sense of safety of an individual.” — Anonymous

Relationship Abuse Quotes to Help You Recognize Toxic Patterns

abusive relationship quotes

41. “The results of any traumatic experience, such as abuse, can only be resolved by experiencing, articulating, and judging every facet of the original experience within a process of careful therapeutic disclosure.” — Alice Miller

42. “Verbal abuse is still abuse. It’s abuse in the form of words. Don’t assume that a few hurtful words won’t cost them their life. Words hurt.” — Anonymous

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43. “Women tend to work hard to avoid being hurt or to stop their partners from abusing them, but they aren’t successful. You cannot make your partner abuse you and you can’t make him not abuse you. These are his choices and his alone. The task is to refocus on yourself and your recovery.” — Carol A. Lambert

44. “Only a man who doesn’t love himself, mistreats the woman who loves him.” ? R. H. Sin

45. “The abuse dies in a day, but the denial slays the life of the people, and entombs the hope of the race.” — Charles Bradlaugh

46. “Abusive language and swearing are a legacy of slavery, humiliation, and disrespect for human dignity, one’s own and that of other people.” ? Leon Trotsky

47. “It is not the bruises on the body that hurt. It is the wounds of the heart and the scars on the mind.” — Aisha Mirza

48. “There is no safe way to remain in a relationship with a person who has no conscience. The only solution is to escape.” — Anonymous

49 “Abusive relationships are characterized by control games, violence, jealousy and withholding emotional contact. An emotionally abusive man is harder to pin-point and a skilled, abusive man can easily make you think you aren’t good enough or that everything is your fault. It is just as difficult to recover from emotional abuse as it is from physical abuse.” — Anonymous

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50 “The scars from mental cruelty can be as deep and long-lasting as wounds from punches or slaps but are often not as obvious.” — Lundy Bancroft

Quotes About Abusive Relationships to Help You Break Free

 

abusive relationship quotes

51. “If you are in an abusive relationship, establishing boundaries may not be possible, as assertiveness in sharing your boundaries may not be even safe. And because the other person has a distinct agenda of controlling or even hurting you – you’ll just get laughed at – if you try to voice your limits. You may need to consider leaving that relationship safely.” — Dr. Margaret Rutherford

52. “It is better to break your own heart by leaving an abusive relationship, rather than having that person breaking your heart every day.” — Anonymous

53. “An abusive relationship is like a maze, every turn leads to a dead end and you're left feeling lost and alone.” —Anonymous

55. “After a series of traumas, one can lose the capacity to feel fear appropriately.” — Anonymous

56.“Overcoming abuse doesn’t just happen, It takes positive steps everyday. Let today be the day you start to move forward.” — Assunta Harris

57. “Bruises heal, but you don’t forget words and emotions, how an abuser makes you feel about yourself.” — Anonymous

58. “Your abusive partner doesn’t have a problem with their anger, they have a problem with your anger.” — Anonymous

59. “Intimidation, even if it appears unintentional, is a sign that emotional abuse is on the way — or has already begun — and is a warning flag that physical violence may eventually follow.” — Lundy Bancroft

60. “Just because a person doesn’t put hands on you, that doesn’t mean they aren’t abusive. Abuse is control, blatant disrespect, and also hurtful words. Don’t settle for emotional abuse thinking it’s ok because it’s not physical.” — Anonymous

Inspiring Abusive Relationship Quotes

abusive relationship quotes

60. “Don’t put up with disrespect just to keep them in your life.” — Anonymous

61. “The scars you can’t see are the hardest to heal.” — Astrid Alauda

62. “If you walked away from a toxic, negative, abusive, one-sided, dead-end low vibrational relationship or friendship — you won.” — Lalah Delia

63. “You can’t change someone who doesn’t see an issue in their actions.” — Anonymous

64. “The toxic behaviors were there before you decided to enter into relationships with them. The signs were there. You may have chosen to look the other way, but the signs were there.” — P.A. Speers

65. “If I treat you the way you treated me, then you would hate me.” — Anonymous

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66. “If he makes you lose your family, lose your friends, lose your confidence, lose your self-esteem, or lose your happiness, then you need to lose him.” — Anonymous

67. “One of the obstacles to recognizing chronic mistreatment in relationships is that most abusive men simply don’t seem like abusers. They have many good qualities, including times of kindness, warmth, and humor, especially in the early period of a relationship. An abuser’s friends may think the world of him. He may have a successful work life and have no problems with drugs or alcohol. He may simply not fit anyone’s image of a cruel or intimidating person. So, when a woman feels her relationship spinning out of control, it is unlikely to occur to her that her partner is an abuser.” — Lundy Bancroft

68. “I trusted you but now your words mean nothing to me, because your actions spoke the truth.” — Anonymous

69. “Well, I went through some emotionally abusive relationships and allowed myself to not be properly respected as a lady, as a human being even, though I tried everything I knew to be a lady.” — Gloria Gaynor

70. “I can’t control your behavior; nor do I want that burden… but I will not apologize for refusing to be disrespected, to be lied to, or to be mistreated. I have standards; step up or step out.” — Steve Maraboli

Quotes About Leaving Abusive Relationships

 

abusive relationship quotes

71. “Relationships are like glass. Sometimes it’s better to leave them broken than to hurt yourself putting it back together.” — Anonymous

72.  “If you don't like the hand that fate's dealt you, fight for a new one.” — Masashi Kishimoto

73. “You survived the abuse. You’re gonna survive the recovery.” — Olivia Benson

74.  Revenge is surviving, getting out, and being a better person than you were, and breaking the cycle. — Kristy Green

75. “Never forget that walking away from something unhealthy is brave even if you stumble a little on your way out the door.” — Mandy Hale

76. You are allowed to terminate toxic relationships. You are allowed to walk away from people who hurt you. You are allowed to be angry and selfish and unforgiving. You don't owe anyone an explanation for taking care of yourself." — Anonymous

77. “When someone isn’t treating you right, no matter how much you love them, you’ve got to love yourself more and walk away.” — Anonymous

78. “Abuse changes your life. Fight Back and change the life of your abusers by Breaking Your silence on abuse!” — Patty Rose Hopson

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79. “Don’t let your loyalty become slavery. If they don’t appreciate what you bring to the table, then let them eat alone.” — Anonymous

80. “Find the strength inside yourself to value your own worth more than staying with someone who only keeps you down.” — Anonymous

81. “If you’re brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello.” — Paulo Coelho

82. “Get out now! Abuse only gets worse over time. No one deserves to be treated like dirt. No one!” — Anonymous

83. “When it comes to abuse, you believe there’s no way out. There is always help. There is always a way out.” — Donna Mulvey

Quotes on Controlling Relationships

 

abusive relationship quotes

84. “Never let someone who contributes so little to a relationship control so much of it.” ? Anonymous

85. “True love is built on free will and free choice, not control, and manipulation.”--- Anonymous                                                                                                                       

86.  “Don’t let someone change who you are, to become what they need.” — Anonymous                                 

87.  “People who feel the need to control others, don’t have control over themselves.” — Anonymous

88. “In a controlling relationship, one person is the warden and the other is the prisoner." —  Mike Mchargue                                                                                                                                       

89. “Playing the victim role: Manipulator portrays him- or herself as a victim of circumstance or of someone else’s behavior in order to gain pity, sympathy, or evoke compassion, and thereby get something from another. Caring and conscientious people cannot stand to see anyone suffering and the manipulator often finds it easy to play on sympathy to get cooperation.” — George K. Simon Jr.

90. “A good test of a relationship is how a person responds to the word ‘no’. Love respects ‘no’ control does not.” — Henry Cloud                                                                       

91. “It’s never pretty when you leave an abusive and controlling relationship. The warden always protests when the prison gets shut-down.” — Steve Maraboli

92. “If there is someone in your life that you can’t speak the truth to, and you walk on eggshells to avoid upsetting them, you are being controlled or manipulated.” — Anonymous

93. “Love doesn’t isolate. If you have to cut off good friends and family to please your partner, you’re not in a relationship. That’s slavery. A person only isolates you so they can control you.” — Anonymous

94. “He doesn’t have to hit you for it to be abuse. He can manipulate, belittle, humiliate, curse, blame, scream, ridicule, disrespect, and try to control you… Abuse gets worse over time. Get help now!” — Anonymous

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95. “And if I could make you understand one truth, it would be this. Someone who manipulates your feelings through guilt isn’t loving you. That’s an attempt to control you. And that has nothing to do with love.” — JmStorm

96. “When a toxic person can no longer control you, they will try to control how others see you. The misinformation will seem unfair but rise above it, trusting that others will eventually see the truth, just as you did.” — Jill Blakeway

97. “Don’t argue with controlling partners. They think they are authorities in everything, even in your life. They always have to be right. You could present them with a silver-lined platter of evidence that they are wrong about something, and they won’t see it, because they can’t ever be wrong and things can’t go any other way but theirs. They would rather throw out a relationship than ever admitting they are wrong.” — Anonymous

98. "The moment you start controlling your partner, know that you have already lost them." — Anonymous

99. "Controlling relationships are not love; they are fear disguised as love." — Anonymous 

100. "Controlling relationships are never based on love; they only exhibit lack of respect for their partner’s freedom and individuality." — Anonymous

101. "When you try to control your partner, you are actually pushing them away." — Anonymous

Conclusion
 

Many people continue to carry forward their relationship with a toxic partner in the hopes that their companion will change over time. However, this will only deepen their distress and pain. Once you analyse the red signs, don’t hesitate to take the audacious move to end it. The above-mentioned abusive relationship quotes will provide you the courage to get through this overwhelming situation. Even though escaping an abusive relationship might not be easy because of the emotional connection with your significant other, these retrospective quotes will give you the power to exit any stage of an abusive relationship. Make sure to stay calm, and tackle the situation with utmost self-confidence to lead towards a healthy and hearty life. 

 

ALSO READ: 130 Heartwarming Self Love Quotes to Remind You Choose to Yourself

38 Toxic Family Quotes That Will Make You Rethink Your Relationships

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About The Author
Aastha Pahadia
Aastha Pahadia
Certified Relationship Coach

Aastha is a certified Relationship coach and she strives to help those who seek expert advice on relationships.

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