mishandles

verb

present tense third-person singular of mishandle
1
as in abuses
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in mauls
to abuse physically adopted a sadly mishandled puppy from the pound

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in mismanages
to manage badly we took over as soon as we realized that the fill-in had been mishandling the situation

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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 mishandles Your case shows that persistence, clear documentation and advocacy can make a real difference — even when an airline mishandles a medical refund request. — Christopher Elliott, Mercury News, 18 May 2026 The quarterback mishandles the snap and heaves the ball, which is picked off. — Caleb Yum, Austin American Statesman, 18 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mishandles
  1. abuses
  2. mauls
  3. violates
  4. mistreats
  5. attacks
  6. damages
  7. injures
  8. misconducts
Verb
  • New York City’s child welfare agency routinely abuses its emergency power to take children from their parents without a court order, creating lifelong consequences for families, a new class-action lawsuit seeking to end the practice alleged Thursday.
    — Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 28 May 2026
  • People deserve a government that watches out for our people’s best interests, not one that abuses its powers and sells us to the highest bidder.
    — Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 2026
Definition of abuses
Verb
  • Bain would immediately give the Dolphins an elite, powerful edge defender who mauls blockers in front of him and fits the 4-3 base defense coach Jeff Hafley wants to play as a traditional defensive end.
    — Kenny Rosarion, Sun Sentinel, 20 Apr. 2026
  • Martin mauls Arlington in 8-6A Arlington Martin got 20 points from Steven Reynolds III and 18 more from Levi Moore as the Warriors blasted Arlington 92-46 in a District 8-6A game on Thursday.
    — Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Jan. 2026
Definition of mauls
Verb
  • If the district violates these state laws, the property would return to state ownership.
    — Addison Wright, Chicago Tribune, 4 July 2026
  • Aysha Bagchi In a win for Republicans, the Supreme Court ruled that a federal law limiting how much political parties can spend in coordination with an election candidate violates the First Amendment, which establishes the right to free speech.
    — Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 1 July 2026
Definition of violates
Verb
  • Platner is also an unfaithful spouse who mistreats women.
    — Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 25 June 2026
  • Victor’s own father is obsessed with legacy and perfection and mistreats his boy, and that cycle continues with Victor and the Creature.
    — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
Definition of mistreats
Verb
  • The once-quiet judges see a growing threat in a president who personally attacks jurists ruling against him.
    — Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 11 July 2026
  • The study surveyed blood donations for the disease’s key antibody, which is in a class dubbed IgE and specifically attacks a double-sugar molecule called galactose-α-1,3-galactose, also known as alpha-gal.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 7 July 2026
Definition of attacks
Verb
  • In some diseases such as frontal lobe dementia, which damages executive function instead of memory, tangles can accumulate without the presence of amyloid.
    — Sandee LaMotte, CNN Money, 15 July 2026
  • Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza wants to help make a difference for people who, like his mom, are living with multiple sclerosis, or MS, a chronic condition that attacks and damages the body’s nervous system.
    — Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 10 July 2026
Definition of damages
Verb
  • Early on in the clip, Jake Johnson’s former tennis star Dusty Boyd trips over the net and injures his wrist in a bad way.
    — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 23 June 2026
  • Who is responsible when a robot breaks something or injures someone?
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 13 June 2026
Definition of injures
Verb
  • In addition, referees were instructed to apply the rules regarding fouls and misconducts more strictly – a move meant to protect players and their inventiveness.
    — Cesar R. Torres, The Conversation, 26 May 2026
Definition of misconducts

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Cite this Entry

“Mishandles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mishandles. Accessed 20 Jul. 2026.

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