MANHANDLED Synonyms: 77 Similar and Opposite Words

manhandled

verb

past tense of manhandle

as in abused

to abuse physically charges that the police manhandled peaceful protesters

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in bullied

to inflict physical or emotional harm upon if you see anyone manhandling a child, you should call the authorities

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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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 After getting physically manhandled far too often last year, Colorado was the more physical team against a Yellow Jackets program that prides itself on toughness. — Seth Emerson, New York Times, 4 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 Those ramped up after Ottawa was completely manhandled by the Canes, and never held the lead at any point in the series. — Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 29 Apr. 2026 The $100 million price tag attached to the legal action is to make sure the city takes Brown’s allegations seriously — and ensure no one else is manhandled by the police without cause, Brown’s attorney Derek Sells of the Cochran Firm said. — Sheetal Banchariya, New York Daily News, 28 Apr. 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 Making the scene even more a spectacle was the fact that Yam Yam was literally being manhandled and dragged out of the castle while doing so. — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for manhandled

Verb

The first leg was stopped after Vinicius Junior said he had been racially abused by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni, who denied the allegation.

— Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
As a result of the accusation, police mailed letters to around 200 parents that warned them their child could have been abused and asked for information, while therapy clinic Children’s Institute International conducted interviews with students.

— Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of abused

Verb

So much about the two circumstances is different, many of them instituted by Key because of losses like the one to Pitt (though that makes getting bullied by Colorado only more perplexing).

— Ken Sugiura, AJC.com, 9 Sep. 2026
Elon was often bullied at school, Errol describes, and once his son was beaten so badly his face was unrecognizable.

— Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of bullied

Verb

For example, ExploitGym, a cybersecurity benchmark that was at the center of the July incident in which OpenAI’s models went rogue and attacked the company Hugging Face, was created in 2026.

— Emily Forlini, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2026
In the wake of Thursday’s ruling, a chorus of Missouri Republicans have attacked the court over its decision.

— Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of attacked

Verb

On a Mojave Desert ranch, Newberry Springs official Mike Matson’s ostriches have been mauled by dogs and shot.

— Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026
And statistically, your chances of getting jumped and mauled by a bear are so low compared to any other real danger in the backcountry.

— Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of mauled

Verb

The same 1-2 punch that ambushed Cambridge with 52 points in the Dave Hunter + Corky Kell Classic beat South Gwinnett on Friday 55-20.

— Jack Leo, AJC.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Belle and Cal were ambushed in the finale and shot at by gunmen who were later revealed to be hired by Tom Wheeler, and the episode ended without confirming either of their fates.

— Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 2 Sep. 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

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

Definition of mishandled

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manhandled

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“Manhandled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/manhandled. Accessed 10 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of manhandled

verb

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