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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in manhandling
to abuse physically
adopted a sadly mishandled puppy from the pound
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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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in mismanagement
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Recent Examples of mishandling
Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 5 Aug. 2025
Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 4 Sep. 2025
An infatuation with war is not the same as being guilty of mishandling classified information.
—Isaac Saul, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
In jurisdictions like the EU, mishandling personal information may violate provisions of the bloc’s strict data privacy law, GDPR, which includes principles like data minimization, informed consent, and the right to be forgotten.
—Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 22 Aug. 2025
Having access to banking information, credit history and even tax returns could introduce risk of the system unknowingly mishandling borrowers’ information.
—Reza Ghazi, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025
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
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
Verb
That Trump has been singularly focused on pop culture comes at a time when his reputation — and that of his administration — has been under fire due to the mishandling of the Epstein files.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 5 Aug. 2025
Noun
With no special-case engineering and new data, Helix can recover gracefully from mishandling or collisions.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 4 Sep. 2025
An infatuation with war is not the same as being guilty of mishandling classified information.
—Isaac Saul, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
In jurisdictions like the EU, mishandling personal information may violate provisions of the bloc’s strict data privacy law, GDPR, which includes principles like data minimization, informed consent, and the right to be forgotten.
—Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 22 Aug. 2025
Having access to banking information, credit history and even tax returns could introduce risk of the system unknowingly mishandling borrowers’ information.
—Reza Ghazi, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mishandling
Verb
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And when markets fail, public institutions must act to prevent dominant players from abusing their power.—
Ryan Whitwam,
ArsTechnica,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Langley says Axon is a monopolist abusing its market position to choke out competition.—
Danielle Chemtob,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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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
Verb
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China has rejected the accusation and accused the Philippines of damaging the coral reef ecosystem in the waterway instead.—
Nectar Gan,
CNN Money,
11 Sep. 2025
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To get a much clearer look at its fine details and avoid damaging the specimen, the research team used highly powerful synchrotron CT scans from facilities in France and the UK.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Iran has been grappling with frequent electricity blackouts, compounding public frustration and adding to the perception that sanctions, aging infrastructure, and government mismanagement are pushing the country into deeper crisis.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Sep. 2025
-
The country is mired in a prolonged crisis brought on by years of hyperinflation, political corruption, economic mismanagement and an ineffectual government.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Wake County schools violated policy when staff did not address the effects of bullying on Danielle, said an April 2024 letter from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.—
Fred Clasen-Kelly,
ABC News,
11 Sep. 2025
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The complaint also alleged that school officials failed in their response to the plaintiff’s complaints and that coaches were aware of the threats of bullying during the camp but did not take meaningful action.—
Paulina Dedaj,
FOXNews.com,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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While Qataris may now indeed question the value of their military cooperation with the United States and its designation of Qatar as a major non-NATO ally, Turkey’s military presence in the country also failed to prevent Israel from attacking.—
Paul Iddon,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Show Viz Nuno Espirito Santo’s Nottingham Forest had counter-attacking licked.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Sheen, 60, opens up about his misuse of drugs and alcohol which wreaked havoc on his health and career.—
Erin Jensen,
USA Today,
10 Sep. 2025
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Much of the attention headed into Election Day was on Tiawana Brown’s quest to keep her seat amid a federal indictment over alleged misuse of COVID-19 relief funds and Marjorie Molina’s heated primary campaign.—
Mary Ramsey
Updated September 9,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Trump has alienated Brazil by defending its former president, charged with trying to overturn a legitimate election, and South Africa, accusing it of mistreating its White citizens.—
Susan Page,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Instead, scenes of life at the nunnery are interspersed with childhood memories, usually involving her mother assisting people in need or her classmates mistreating vulnerable children.—
Nathaniel Moore
September 10,
Literary Hub,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mishandling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mishandling. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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