mishandle

mis·han·dle

verb \-ˈhan-d^əl\

Definition of MISHANDLE

transitive verb

1

: to treat roughly : maltreat

2

: to deal with or manage wrongly or ignorantly

Examples of MISHANDLE

1. The police mishandled the investigation.
2. Apples are easily bruised when they are mishandled.
3. The shortstop mishandled the throw.
4. The quarterback fumbled when he mishandled the snap.

First Known Use of MISHANDLE

1530

Related to MISHANDLE

Synonyms: brutalize, bully, ill-treat, ill-use, kick around, maltreat, manhandle, mess over [slang], abuse, mistreat, misuse

Related Words: molest, outrage, violate; harass, harm, hurt, injure, oppress, persecute, torment, torture; burn, sandbag, victimize, wrong; beat (up), mess (up), rough (up), work (over)

Near Antonyms: care (for), cherish, foster, nurture; baby, cater (to), coddle, favor, gratify, humor, indulge, mollycoddle, pamper, spoil

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Rhymes with MISHANDLE

foot-candle, manhandle, panhandle, stickhandle