Synonyms of mishandled

mishandled

verb

past tense of mishandle

1

as in abused

to inflict physical or emotional harm upon

having been shuffled from foster home to foster home, the orphaned girl felt she had been mishandled by an uncaring society

Synonyms & Similar Words

• abused
• bullied
• mistreated
• misused
• tortured
• injured
• manhandled
• brutalized
• violated
• maltreated
• hurt
• ill-treated
• oppressed
• ill-used
• messed over
• persecuted
• harassed
• molested
• harmed
• took apart
• tormented
• outraged
• kicked around
• victimized
• wronged
• worked (over)
• burned
• beat (up)
• sandbagged
• roughed (up)
• messed (up)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• fostered
• cherished
• nurtured
• cared (for)
• favored
• spoiled
• indulged
• gratified
• catered (to)
• coddled
• pampered
• humored
• babied
• mollycoddled

2

as in attacked

to abuse physically

adopted a sadly mishandled puppy from the pound

Synonyms & Similar Words

• abused
• attacked
• manhandled
• mauled
• maltreated
• ambushed
• tortured
• injured
• misused
• hurt
• mistreated
• wounded
• roughed (up)
• battered
• beat
• slapped
• harmed
• pummeled
• buffeted
• knocked
• wrestled
• persecuted
• licked
• fought
• wronged
• ill-treated
• bashed
• lambasted
• hit
• thrashed
• pounded
• assailed
• ill-used
• oppressed
• jumped
• tormented
• clobbered
• roughhoused
• drubbed
• pommeled
• ganged up (on)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• fondled
• caressed
• petted
• coddled
• pampered
• fostered
• nurtured
• cared (for)
• mollycoddled

3

as in mismanaged

to manage badly

we took over as soon as we realized that the fill-in had been mishandling the situation

Synonyms & Similar Words

• mismanaged
• damaged
• abused
• violated
• misconducted
• misgoverned
• mistreated
• misruled
• misused
• maladministered
• harmed
• maltreated
• bungled
• hurt
• botched
• ill-treated
• ill-used

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• handled
• managed
• ruled
• governed
• protected
• helped
• husbanded
• cared (for)
• aided
• rescued
• nurtured

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of mishandled

The engineer who had asked the question followed it, triggering a permission change that exposed company data for two hours, though a Meta spokesperson denied earlier reports that user data was mishandled. — Tyler Akidau, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026

Her complaint alleges deputies mishandled a live grenade from a Santa Monica call, brought it to a training center where explosives are banned, and handled it with Lemus, who lacked bomb-squad training. — Andrew Khouri, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2026

The heat wave has gone down in history as being grossly mishandled by the city. — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 1 July 2026

During an hours-long hearing on Monday, Shannon Gallagher, 56, argued that Broward Circuit Court Judge Ernest Kollra should dismiss the charges against her because police mishandled key evidence that could have cleared her. — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 30 June 2026

Garcia Martinez, who says his mother is in removal proceedings because Lozano mishandled her case, lives every day in fear that she will be deported. — ABC News, 29 June 2026

The audio tapes were obtained by the Justice Department during its investigation into concerns that Biden mishandled classified materials. — Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 19 June 2026

Castle said victims are too often left with limited options when allegations are mishandled or ignored within the ranks. — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 9 June 2026

On Thursday, a judge dismissed the murder case against Spencer after ruling that the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office mishandled evidence. — Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 6 June 2026