1
as in abusing
to abuse physically
charges that the police manhandled peaceful protesters
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bullying
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 manhandling
But even with Mizzou being able to do what it’s been doing — manhandling the trenches and milking the clock — the results were somewhat spoiled.
—
Quentin Corpuel, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2025
San Francisco tackle Williams is 6-foot-5 and 320, and has been manhandling NFL linemen since Hufanga was a boy running around his parents’ farm in Oregon.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 6 Aug. 2025
Quentin Corpuel, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2025
San Francisco tackle Williams is 6-foot-5 and 320, and has been manhandling NFL linemen since Hufanga was a boy running around his parents’ farm in Oregon.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for manhandling
Verb
-
Last year, Cindy Clemishire, 55, accused Morris of abusing her at the age of 12.—
Jordan King,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Cardi responded in kind, speculating whether or not Minaj was abusing substances, and insinuating that Minaj’s substance use has affected her children’s health.—
Jeff Ihaza,
Rolling Stone,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Now he's accused the Indianapolis Democrat of bullying and threatening him.—
Kayla Dwyer,
IndyStar,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Myran offered a history of bullying as an example.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Teams found a way to negate Forest’s counter-attacking style.—
Paul Taylor,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
-
And more so than most nights, the Bengals' offensive identity for a long first-half stretch seemed to hinge on attacking quick underneath routes to open up shots to Higgins -- or Chase -- on Moss.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
More than 3,000 Hamas fighters gunned down civilians, torturing and mutilating some of them in their own homes, still in their pajamas.—
Romina Ruiz-Goiriena,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
-
The trailer presents the Jimmies as a downright terrifying clan, showing them violating and torturing other survivors.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
City enters Week 2 of the new campaign as Premier League leader after mauling its way to a 4-0 win over Wolves on opening weekend.—
Kilty Cleary,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The lawsuit followed a 2022 probe into the company after a rollout of tickets for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour came under intense scrutiny due to its mishandling.—
Laya Neelakandan,
CNBC,
18 Sep. 2025
-
However, last month, the DOT launched a new, upgraded complaint platform, called the Aviation Complaint, Enforcement, and Reporting System (ACERS), aimed at overhauling how air travelers raise concerns, including issues such as luggage mishandling and accessibility failures.—
AFAR Media,
AFAR Media,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The offense also turned in another strong performance, ambushing Scherzer for three runs out of the gate before later getting home runs from Masataka Yoshida and Carlos Narvaez to turn the game into a rout.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
25 Sep. 2025
-
The entertainment giant accused Sling TV’s parent of ambushing it with the offering, allegedly without consultation, to capitalize on the starts of the college football and NFL seasons.—
Winston Cho,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
And in 2024, the 6-seed Mets did it (beating the Phillies before losing to the Dodgers in the NLCS).—
Ryan Ford,
Freep.com,
6 Oct. 2025
-
Trump has also spoken at length about his concerns about the New York City mayoral race, criticizing the potential election of progressive candidate Zohran Mamdani, who drew national attention for beating former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary.—
Peter Aitken,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Manhandling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/manhandling. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share