1
as in to abuse
to inflict physical or emotional harm upon
having been shuffled from foster home to foster home, the orphaned girl felt she had been mishandled by an uncaring society
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2
as in to manhandle
to abuse physically
adopted a sadly mishandled puppy from the pound
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to mismanage
to manage badly
we took over as soon as we realized that the fill-in had been mishandling the situation
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mishandle
Mayes is currently investigating Horne and the department for allegedly mishandling public funds.
—
Center Square, The Washington Examiner, 10 Dec. 2025
Walshe already pleaded guilty to lying to police and mishandling a body earlier this month.
—Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 4 Dec. 2025
What funds is Mayes accusing ADE of mishandling?
—Erick Trevino, AZCentral.com, 3 Dec. 2025
The practice of mishandling bodies by bulldozing them into unmarked graves can violate international law, according to legal experts.
—Yahya Abou-Ghazala, CNN Money, 3 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mishandle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mishandle
Verb
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So long as a person is willing to subject himself to the abuse of the City, the City will find new and worse ways to abuse him.—
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Ohio State has previously settled filed by 296 individuals who alleged they were abused by Strauss, who died by suicide in 2005.—
Verb
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From the first-quarter red-zone stand to the fourth-quarter strip sack that left Justin Herbert twisted, bloodied and dazed, the Patriots defense manhandled the Los Angeles Chargers in the teams’ wild-card playoff matchup.—
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Nevertheless, Smith, 27, still had the last laugh courtesy of a 25th-minute strike on the half-volley made all the more impressive by how Matt Clarke was attempting to manhandle the forward to the ground as the cross from the equally lively Nathan Broadhead came in.—
Verb
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The Legal Accountability Project claims circuit court executives failed to intervene when Merriam continued to mistreat staff after the first complaint.—
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In its statement following his death, PETA accused Easley of mistreating the tigers under his care.—
Verb
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Or left tackle Theo Benedet pulling into the open field in Cincinnati, sprinting well beyond the line of scrimmage, starting his block on Geno Stone 4 yards from the sideline, then mauling the Bengals safety within inches of a bench.—
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In September, a 71-year-old woman was mauled to death by dogs in Miami Gardens, and a dog killed a 5-month-old infant near Daytona Beach in July.—
Verb
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For the second game running, Omari Hutchinson was too easily bullied off the ball in a dangerous area.—
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Though the basics are similar, the improvements and extras combine to bully its predecessor into storage, and the Roadie 4 now has pride of place in the accessories cubby of my guitar's travel case.—
Verb
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Two people came out of a nearby apartment and attacked the agent with a snow shovel and broom handle, federal authorities say.—
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The outlet also said that Rezaei maintained that Iran would abandon any notion of a ceasefire if attacked.—
Verb
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Some government offices and financial institutions were damaged during the unrest, residents said, while merchants reported being ordered to reopen businesses despite ongoing security operations.—
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The gunfire damaged the car’s rear end, trunk, tail light and rear window louver, according to court documents.—
Verb
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And, if federal officials determine a state has misused funds, they can be withheld, reduced or clawed back.—
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Jacobson retired effective immediately on Monday after he was confronted by Mayor Justin Elicker and admitted to misusing the money, Elicker told reporters.—
Cite this Entry
“Mishandle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mishandle. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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