manhandled

verb

past tense of manhandle
1
as in abused
to abuse physically charges that the police manhandled peaceful protesters

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bullied
to inflict physical or emotional harm upon if you see anyone manhandling a child, you should call the authorities

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 manhandled However, that doesn’t explain how they were manhandled by the Gamecocks last week. — David Troy Outkick, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026 Being manhandled at home by a team with the sport’s sixth-lowest payroll is a negative. — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2026 He was brought to the prison infirmary, where numerous guards surrounded, punched, kicked, choked, dropped and manhandled him. — Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 19 Sep. 2026 Valley View won its first game but was manhandled by Searcy last week. — Arkansas Online, 9 Sep. 2026 New England lost in demoralizing fashion to the Seahawks last February, 29-13, as the Seattle defense manhandled the Patriots’ offense. — Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 20 Aug. 2026 Then, the family says two others broke through a small window, manhandled their dogs and stole priceless mementos handed down through their family over generations, along with the cash. — Nicole Comstock, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2026 Did something get squashed en route, then manhandled by Kennedy? — Erin Vanderhoof, Vanity Fair, 16 Apr. 2026 Stella was torn between getting it right and being manhandled by Meredith. — Literary Hub, 13 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for manhandled
  1. abused
  2. bullied
  3. attacked
  4. tortured
  5. mauled
  6. ambushed
  7. maltreated
  8. mishandled
Verb
  • The charges come with additional special allegations, around the victim’s vulnerability and that Tapia abused a trustworthy position.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Early American corporate charters, after all, were granted for limited public purposes and could be revoked when abused.
    — Christopher Marquis, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of abused
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
  • 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
  • His underlings kidnapped and tortured a dealer who refused to pay, the indictment said.
    — Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The organization advocating on his behalf said Gilman had been tortured in Russian detention.
    — Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of tortured
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
Verb
  • Three planeloads of soldiers from El Salvador landed in Haiti on Friday, days after the Central American nation’s president angrily threatened Haitian gangs that ambushed a group of Salvadoran soldiers over the past weekend who remain missing.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Task Force were returning to their camp Sunday in a white all-terrain Toyota when they were ambushed by heavily armed criminals, according to the Salvadoran military.
    — Widlore Mérancourt, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of ambushed
Verb
  • Canadian researchers found that older adults who were maltreated as children may face a significantly higher risk of cancer decades later.
    — Rob Williams, EverydayHealth.com, 22 Apr. 2026
  • The Adams County Health and Human Services Department’s initial assessment indicated that the infant was maltreated, though a final autopsy report is still pending, TMZ reported.
    — Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 9 Mar. 2026
Definition of maltreated
Verb
  • 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
Definition of mishandled

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Cite this Entry

“Manhandled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/manhandled. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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