mishandled

verb

past tense of mishandle
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

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2
as in attacked
to abuse physically adopted a sadly mishandled puppy from the pound

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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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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of mishandled That law provided a narrow path to freedom if Galloway could find crucial new evidence or prove that previous lawyers had mishandled the case. — Samantha Melamed, ProPublica, 13 Oct. 2026 Last week, a Staten Island judge ruled the city mishandled the rollout by unfairly shifting the burden to thousands of homeowners to prove their basic residency and ordered officials to redo the process. — Christina Fan, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026 The Fed’s watchdog said renovations were mishandled, but no laws were broken. — Alec Dent, Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2026 Ryan Vilade and Diaz walked and as the Yankees mishandled a throw in attempting a double play on Liam Hicks’ grounder, Vilade made a heads-up dash for home. — Marc Topkin, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Sep. 2026 An inconspicuous back pass to the Rapids’ third-string goalkeeper, Adam Beaudry, was mishandled. — Spencer Baldwin, Denver Post, 17 Sep. 2026 According to The Athletic, attorney Rob Carey is representing his family and said the university mishandled the investigation into his medical emergency. — Natasha Dye, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026 Over his two-hour closing, Sanft claimed that the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department mishandled the search for the Cadillac, allowed unauthorized people to access the case file, and lost police reports during a technology upgrade. — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 31 Aug. 2026 Merrill walked and Bogaerts singled to start the fifth inning, and the Padres loaded the bases when Mateo mishandled Austin Hays’ grounder to second. — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mishandled
  1. abused
  2. attacked
  3. damaged
  4. bullied
  5. manhandled
  6. violated
  7. mistreated
  8. mauled
Verb
  • The act also has been sorely abused and used as a tool to stop projects, particularly housing.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026
  • In 2023, the Illinois attorney general released a detailed report that identified 451 Catholic priests and religious brothers who the investigation found had abused at least 1,997 children across the state’s six Catholic dioceses.
    — Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of abused
Verb
  • The men were returning to camp when their white armored Toyota Land Cruiser was attacked by members of the two Haitian gangs.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026
  • After Israel accepted its meager portion, Arabs attacked and retained a significant part of the land that was to be divided between Jews and Arabs.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of attacked
Verb
  • The attack also damaged a nearby care home, with emergency crews evacuating 15 elderly residents, the service said.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Research partners recorded the various sounds that drones make when their propellers get chipped or cracked or their motor becomes damaged or begins to fail.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of damaged
Verb
  • The opening episode depicts her deep bond with young Jason (Callum Vinson), an outsider who has significant health issues and is bullied by other kids.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • James McAvoy recalls his first day on the set of Band of Brothers and says a co-star bullied him.
    — Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of bullied
Verb
  • He got stuffed by double-team blocks and turned away by larger Toronto wings, who manhandled the slighter forward in his attempts to create downhill momentum.
    — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The Dallas Cowboys were manhandled by the Green Bay Packers 23-13 on Sunday night to drop to 2-4 this season.
    — Jim Barnes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of manhandled
Verb
  • In January, the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights concluded that the school violated Title IX over athletic participation, facilities and its response to complaints.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Unless disclosed to and approved by the US government and reported on his tax returns, Kushner’s access to the Alpha account may have violated US law.
    — Matthew Cole, Vanity Fair, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of violated
Verb
  • Dustin Degenhardt, a voter in the town of Wainwright, said that Albertans have long been mistreated by Canada’s federal government.
    — Rob Gillies, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Dustin Degenhardt, a voter in the town of Wainwright, said that Albertans have long been mistreated by Canada's federal government.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of mistreated
Verb
  • Four days after Ismail was attacked, 63-year-old swimmer Greg O’Neill was fatally mauled by a large white shark.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026
  • When his grandfather was mauled by a leopard caught in a trap set for an impala, however, Mgesi began to feel that the dangers of hunting wildlife outweighed its benefits for humans.
    — Juliet Kinsman, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of mauled

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Cite this Entry

“Mishandled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mishandled. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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