Synonyms
Examples of mishandle in a Sentence
The police mishandled the investigation.
Apples are easily bruised when they are mishandled.
The shortstop mishandled the throw.
The quarterback fumbled when he mishandled the snap.
Recent Examples on the Web
Republicans blame Biden for mishandling the border and argue that FEMA resources should be spent on American families struggling with homelessness, not arriving migrants.
—
Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2024
Trump is facing multiple federal criminal charges, including in Florida, where he’s accused of willfully retaining and mishandling sensitive government documents.
—Max Greenwood, Miami Herald, 5 Apr. 2024
This was, however, one of the charges that stuck: Al-Halabi would later plead guilty to mishandling classified documents by taking them to his Guantánamo quarters in an unsecured manner.
—Tamara Audi, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024
In the second, third baseman Anthony Rendon mishandled a routine grounder to start the inning.
—Jeff Fletcher, Orange County Register, 28 Mar. 2024
In the early days of the pandemic, President Donald Trump mishandled the crisis and peddled misinformation about COVID.
—George Makari, The Atlantic, 21 Mar. 2024
Those complaints frequently contain concerns that schools are mishandling these reports, though very few cases make it to trial.
—Karina Elwood, Washington Post, 30 Mar. 2024
Two of the cases — in Washington, D.C., and Georgia — charge Trump with interfering with the 2020 election, while the third, in Florida, charges him with mishandling classified documents.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 28 Mar. 2024
Royal and communications experts say Prince William and his wife, Kate, may have wanted to maintain their privacy about her health but instead mishandled the situation and fueled a damaging photo scandal.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 13 Mar. 2024
Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2024
Trump is facing multiple federal criminal charges, including in Florida, where he’s accused of willfully retaining and mishandling sensitive government documents.
—Max Greenwood, Miami Herald, 5 Apr. 2024
This was, however, one of the charges that stuck: Al-Halabi would later plead guilty to mishandling classified documents by taking them to his Guantánamo quarters in an unsecured manner.
—Tamara Audi, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024
In the second, third baseman Anthony Rendon mishandled a routine grounder to start the inning.
—Jeff Fletcher, Orange County Register, 28 Mar. 2024
In the early days of the pandemic, President Donald Trump mishandled the crisis and peddled misinformation about COVID.
—George Makari, The Atlantic, 21 Mar. 2024
Those complaints frequently contain concerns that schools are mishandling these reports, though very few cases make it to trial.
—Karina Elwood, Washington Post, 30 Mar. 2024
Two of the cases — in Washington, D.C., and Georgia — charge Trump with interfering with the 2020 election, while the third, in Florida, charges him with mishandling classified documents.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 28 Mar. 2024
Royal and communications experts say Prince William and his wife, Kate, may have wanted to maintain their privacy about her health but instead mishandled the situation and fueled a damaging photo scandal.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 13 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mishandle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near mishandle
Cite this Entry
“Mishandle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mishandle. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mishandle
verb
mis·han·dle
(ˈ)mis-ˈhan-dᵊl 
1
: to treat roughly : maltreat
2
: to manage wrongly
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