1
as in abused
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in attacked
to abuse physically
adopted a sadly mishandled puppy from the pound
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in mismanaged
to manage badly
we took over as soon as we realized that the fill-in had been mishandling the situation
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mishandled
Recent headlines prove that, like any food, frozen items can be dangerous when mishandled at the farm, in the factory, on the road, at the warehouse, at the store or by the consumer.
—
Darin Detwiler, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2025
Gasoline Disposal Safety Tips Gasoline is extremely dangerous if mishandled.
—Kamron Sanders, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 Oct. 2025
Pitcher Orion Kerkering mishandled a comebacker, opting to throw home instead of first with the bases loaded and two outs.
—Melinda Yao, NBC news, 11 Oct. 2025
Trump claimed Comey mishandled a 2016 probe into Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s private email server, but Comey also refused to pledge loyalty to the president.
—Douglas M. Charles, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2025
She and Sollecito were exonerated and released after four years in prison following an appeal, where the court found that Italian authorities had grossly mishandled the case.
—Sam Reed, Glamour, 1 Oct. 2025
Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano has addressed concerns from lawmakers following whistleblower allegations that the federal agency mishandled sensitive personal data.
—Aliss Higham, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025
Pratt’s Office of Student Protections alleged Thuet mishandled that case.
—Kate Perez, Chicago Tribune, 4 Sep. 2025
The case alleges Wilder mishandled Portalatin’s custody case in a Tarrant County family court.
—Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Sep. 2025
Darin Detwiler, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2025
Gasoline Disposal Safety Tips Gasoline is extremely dangerous if mishandled.
—Kamron Sanders, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 Oct. 2025
Pitcher Orion Kerkering mishandled a comebacker, opting to throw home instead of first with the bases loaded and two outs.
—Melinda Yao, NBC news, 11 Oct. 2025
Trump claimed Comey mishandled a 2016 probe into Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s private email server, but Comey also refused to pledge loyalty to the president.
—Douglas M. Charles, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2025
She and Sollecito were exonerated and released after four years in prison following an appeal, where the court found that Italian authorities had grossly mishandled the case.
—Sam Reed, Glamour, 1 Oct. 2025
Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano has addressed concerns from lawmakers following whistleblower allegations that the federal agency mishandled sensitive personal data.
—Aliss Higham, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025
Pratt’s Office of Student Protections alleged Thuet mishandled that case.
—Kate Perez, Chicago Tribune, 4 Sep. 2025
The case alleges Wilder mishandled Portalatin’s custody case in a Tarrant County family court.
—Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mishandled
Verb
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The former president has bristled at the suggestion that his administration abused the autopen, defending himself in a July 13 New York Times interview.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
28 Oct. 2025
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The lax rules are being abused by people using services like Suno and Udio, where anyone can make an AI song that attempts to mimic a real artist in a matter of seconds.—
Bobby Allyn,
NPR,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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On August 22, she was attacked while on a Charlotte light train in what police described as an unprovoked stabbing.—
Marni Rose McFall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Oct. 2025
-
Ruben Amorim’s men attacked with precision and purpose at Old Trafford.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
26 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Naroditsky's death at age 29 outraged his supporters in the chess world, who said he'd been bullied relentlessly by Kramnik, a former world champion who has accused many players of cheating in online play.—
Jason Abbruzzese,
NBC news,
22 Oct. 2025
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The case centered on allegations that O’Brien had bullied colleagues and made racially insensitive remarks.—
State House News Service,
Boston Herald,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Workers described incidents of verbal and physical abuse, including reports from women workers who said they had been manhandled and subjected to obscene remarks and threats.—
Mayu Saini,
Sourcing Journal,
2 Oct. 2025
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Vancouver completely manhandled a similarly representative Flames lineup, ultimately winning 8-1.—
Thomas Drance,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Your homes may have been damaged or destroyed and your communities and towns no longer look the same.—
Abigail Adams,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
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Many tender crops die back with the first fall frost, while hardier plants may linger longer but still be damaged by freezes.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
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They are mistreated, raped, killed.—
Karl Ove Knausgaard,
New Yorker,
21 Oct. 2025
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There have been multiple reports of children being mistreated during enforcement operations.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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As Chris Brown speeds toward a February trial in the case of a housekeeper who was mauled by a security dog at his Los Angeles house five years ago, the singer is sharing his detailed description of the incident, in his own words, for the first time.—
Nancy Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
21 Oct. 2025
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An Ohio woman was sentenced to prison after officials said her 6-month-old baby was mauled to death by a dog after being left unsupervised.—
Jennifer Rodriguez,
Kansas City Star,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Along with the legal near-miss, the staff report found that Chua’s actions violated several city codes, including by directing a staff member without going through the city manager and by improperly calling a meeting.—
Luis Melecio-Zambrano,
Mercury News,
23 Oct. 2025
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Separately, two Russian aircraft flying from Kaliningrad violated Lithuanian airspace near Kybartai on Thursday, two Lithuanian officials told NBC News.—
Alexander Smith,
NBC news,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mishandled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mishandled. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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