Reactive abuse is where someone treats you badly and uses your poor reaction as a reason to mistreat you some more. Say, they've been curt with you, and you tell them they seem to be uninterested in communicating, and they tell you they don't like communicating with you because you're negative so much. That's also an example of a circular argument, but reactive abuse isn't just about argument. It's any mistreatment that solicits a negative response that can be used against you.