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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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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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of mishandle
However, a lack of clarity over where it should be displayed led to years of mishandling, confidential 1984 memos seen by PA news agency showed.
—
George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 30 Dec. 2024
Fears were revived in 2014 after federal labs mishandled samples of smallpox, anthrax and H5N1.
—Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 24 Dec. 2024
Within the European Union, for example, heavy fines under the General Data Protection Regulation have been levied against organizations for mishandling consumer data.
—Erum Manzoor, Forbes, 26 Dec. 2024
A little over 1% of wheelchairs and scooters were mishandled during the month of September, according to the latest Air Travel Consumer Report from the Department of Transportation.
—Alexandra Skores, CNN, 16 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mishandle 
George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 30 Dec. 2024
Fears were revived in 2014 after federal labs mishandled samples of smallpox, anthrax and H5N1.
—Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 24 Dec. 2024
Within the European Union, for example, heavy fines under the General Data Protection Regulation have been levied against organizations for mishandling consumer data.
—Erum Manzoor, Forbes, 26 Dec. 2024
A little over 1% of wheelchairs and scooters were mishandled during the month of September, according to the latest Air Travel Consumer Report from the Department of Transportation.
—Alexandra Skores, CNN, 16 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mishandle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mishandle
Verb
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Saturday afternoon, officers responded to a call reporting a coyote pup being abused in the 10800 block of South Sacramento Avenue by three males, Chicago police said, Officers discovered a dead pup on private property and the coyote was removed..Deanese Williams-Harris, Chicago Tribune, 15 Jan. 2025
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The Star Tribune reports that the mother of two met a group of 15-year-old hockey players from Colorado in a hotel hot tub and later abused two of them in their room.Sean Neumann, People.com, 14 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Other officers and prison staff are recorded smiling and joking with each other as Brooks is being manhandled.Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 3 Jan. 2025
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As the last at-large team in the field, the discourse over College Football Playoff blowouts and selection committee decisions turned to SMU, one day after Indiana was manhandled by Notre Dame.Chris Vannini, The Athletic, 21 Dec. 2024
Verb
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The inspector general found that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks mismanaged protocols during his 2024 hospitalization for prostate cancer treatment.Matt Galka, Baltimore Sun, 17 Jan. 2025
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The federal government is complex, though, and lacking knowledge about how agencies work could lead to unintentional consequences if agencies are mismanaged.Zac Anderson, USA TODAY, 16 Jan. 2025
Verb
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An investigation has been launched after a viral social media post allegedly showed a Border Patrol agent mistreating a K9 at the Falfurrias Border Patrol checkpoint in Texas.Dan Perry, Newsweek, 2 Jan. 2025
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The film is in part about how men get away with mistreating women around them.Nicholas Kristof, The Mercury News, 29 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Even if it’s mauled and damaged to some degree, there will be evidence.Eric Levenson, CNN, 15 Jan. 2025
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When Blake gets initially mauled, the swirling cinematography is so hard to understand that, for good measure, a few beats later he gets mauled again.Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 15 Jan. 2025
Verb
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After spending two days with the Heat on the Northern California portion of their most recent road trip, this much was made quite clear: The Heat are not about to be hurried or bullied into a bad deal.Sam Amick, The Athletic, 9 Jan. 2025
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Trump responded by repeatedly bullying him, threatening to annex Canada.Stephen Maher, TIME, 7 Jan. 2025
Verb
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On screen, viewers witness Mormon soldiers disguised as Native Americans attacking a group of pioneers traveling westward.Monica Mercuri, Forbes, 11 Jan. 2025
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Based on open-source evidence and the man’s own social-media content, the group traced him to a brigade in Gaza that had attacked residential areas, religious sites, markets, and schools where civilians were present.Annie Hylton, The New Yorker, 11 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Other establishments were not damaged but remain inaccessible due to the devastation.Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2025
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About 12,000 structures have been damaged of destroyed.David Caraccio, Sacramento Bee, 16 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Mishandle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mishandle. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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