1
as in abusing
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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in manhandling
to abuse physically
adopted a sadly mishandled puppy from the pound
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in damaging
to manage badly
we took over as soon as we realized that the fill-in had been mishandling the situation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in mismanagement
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
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 mishandling
David Klepper, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2025
Typically, federal prosecutions for mishandling sensitive national defense information target other types of conduct such as an intentional leak.
—Aysha Bagchi, USA Today, 27 Mar. 2025
Federal laws criminalize mishandling classified information – for example, by knowingly transmitting it to an unauthorized person or retaining it in an unauthorized location.
—Aysha Bagchi, USA Today, 27 Mar. 2025
Democratic lawmakers have accused administration officials of recklessly mishandling highly classified information.
—Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Mar. 2025
His claim that the Justice Department had been weaponized during the Biden administration overlooked that there were investigations during that time into Biden’s mishandling of classified information and into the firearms and tax affairs of his son Hunter.
—Alanna Durkin Richer, Sun Sentinel, 14 Mar. 2025
Carey, who led the Church from 1991 to 2002, resigned as a priest in December 2024 after facing separate allegations of mishandling abuse cases.
—Matt Robison, Newsweek, 25 Feb. 2025
If your eggs or embryos have to be transferred to a different facility, what safeguards are in place to prevent mishandling?
—Melissa Willets, Parents, 25 Feb. 2025
However, a lack of clarity over where it should be displayed led to years of mishandling, confidential 1984 memos seen by PA news agency showed.
—George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 30 Dec. 2024
Noun
The president’s ability to declassify information has been invoked when presidents have been accused of mishandling secrets.
—David Klepper, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2025
Typically, federal prosecutions for mishandling sensitive national defense information target other types of conduct such as an intentional leak.
—Aysha Bagchi, USA Today, 27 Mar. 2025
Federal laws criminalize mishandling classified information – for example, by knowingly transmitting it to an unauthorized person or retaining it in an unauthorized location.
—Aysha Bagchi, USA Today, 27 Mar. 2025
Democratic lawmakers have accused administration officials of recklessly mishandling highly classified information.
—Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Mar. 2025
His claim that the Justice Department had been weaponized during the Biden administration overlooked that there were investigations during that time into Biden’s mishandling of classified information and into the firearms and tax affairs of his son Hunter.
—Alanna Durkin Richer, Sun Sentinel, 14 Mar. 2025
Carey, who led the Church from 1991 to 2002, resigned as a priest in December 2024 after facing separate allegations of mishandling abuse cases.
—Matt Robison, Newsweek, 25 Feb. 2025
If your eggs or embryos have to be transferred to a different facility, what safeguards are in place to prevent mishandling?
—Melissa Willets, Parents, 25 Feb. 2025
However, a lack of clarity over where it should be displayed led to years of mishandling, confidential 1984 memos seen by PA news agency showed.
—George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 30 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mishandling
Verb
-
Instead, there was a fast, tough, physical team flying around and making big-time plays, bullying the big-boy Tar Heels.—
Kels Dayton,
Hartford Courant,
30 Dec. 2024
-
LeBron James scored 32 points one game after setting the NBA’s all-time minutes record for regular-season games, bullying the Kings on the offensive end while grabbing four steals on the defensive end.—
Dan Woike,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
There were 11 deaths resulting from fireworks misuse or malfunction.—
Maddie Carr
July 4,
Kansas City Star,
4 July 2025
-
Of the 11 deaths that occurred in 2024, all were said to have followed either misuse of fireworks or malfunctions.—
Stephen J. Beard,
USA Today,
3 July 2025
Verb
-
The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities recently launched a campaign attacking the governor for allowing the state’s overreliance on property taxes to worsen and for seeking to slash summer work programs that assist the state’s troubled youths.—
Keith M. Phaneuf,
Hartford Courant,
15 Mar. 2025
-
Moyes is likely to spend the summer focusing on improving the squad’s attacking output.—
Patrick Boyland,
The Athletic,
14 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Even in districts that have staff dedicated to teaching Black history, some teachers are afraid of violating state law, according to Brian Knowles, who oversees African American, Holocaust and Latino studies for the Palm Beach County school district.—
Kate Payne,
Orlando Sentinel,
23 Dec. 2024
-
That year, the campaign finance regulator separately found that Wyss’s groups failed to provide evidence of certain grant agreements upon conservatives accusing him of violating laws on foreign nationals making donations.—
Gabe Kaminsky,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
22 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
Court papers say the defendant, Farrukh Ali, conspired with at least 41 substance abuse clinics to bill the state for hundreds of millions of dollars for substance abuse services that were never provided, not provided as billed or were medically unnecessary.—
Ryan Lucas,
NPR,
30 June 2025
-
President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans say the bill would cut waste, fraud and abuse from Medicaid, providing coverage only to those who truly need it.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
30 June 2025
Noun
-
Coming back to the implications of the Supreme Court verdict, regulatory agencies will now be able to have more effective rulemaking without the constant shadow of cascading lawsuits that are predicated on a misapplication of the precautionary principle.—
Saleem H. Ali,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
-
The Importance Of Proper Legal Analysis Some recent discussions that have speculated on the Pope's potential U.S. tax obligations, seem to have a misunderstanding or misapplication of the relevant legal frameworks.—
Virginia La Torre Jeker,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mishandling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mishandling. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share