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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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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as in mismanagement
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Recent Examples of mishandling
Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 5 Aug. 2025
Michael Collins, USA Today, 8 Oct. 2025
Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony also castigated the deputies for mishandling the 14 calls Mary made to BSO in the year leading up to her death.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2025
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, 15 Sep. 2025
Castle, who has accused the Navy of mishandling her daughter's disappearance, said during a press conference in June that her daughter's body was left exposed for days and was not properly preserved or prepared for viewing.
—Deena Zaru, ABC News, 9 Sep. 2025
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
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
Bolton is reportedly under investigation for mishandling classified documents.
—Michael Collins, USA Today, 8 Oct. 2025
Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony also castigated the deputies for mishandling the 14 calls Mary made to BSO in the year leading up to her death.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2025
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, 15 Sep. 2025
Castle, who has accused the Navy of mishandling her daughter's disappearance, said during a press conference in June that her daughter's body was left exposed for days and was not properly preserved or prepared for viewing.
—Deena Zaru, ABC News, 9 Sep. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mishandling
Verb
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General view of the Google headquarters in King’s Cross as the tech giant faces a 5 billion pound lawsuit in the UK for allegedly abusing its online search dominance.—
April Roach,Tasmin Lockwood,
CNBC,
10 Oct. 2025
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While the record doesn't detail the events of Max's arrest, TMZ reported that the actor was allegedly abusing nitrous oxide before allegedly attacking his mother while livestreaming.—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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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
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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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That damaging psychic weight of insecurity and self-blame seeps into our society and politics, where polls show a stubborn and longtime trend of declining faith in a better future.—
Nino Paoli,
Fortune,
11 Oct. 2025
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Several police officers reported that rioters were forcibly removing and damaging their equipment.—
Adam Sabes,
FOXNews.com,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Decades of mismanagement, underinvestment and corruption have strained the power grid of Iraq, which is OPEC's second-largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia.—
Emma Graham,
CNBC,
15 Oct. 2025
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Even though Rinderknecht was charged with the crime, fire experts told the Washington Examiner that mismanagement by firefighting crews and questionable tactics putting out the smaller Lachman Fire contributed to the Palisades Fire.—
Barnini Chakraborty,
The Washington Examiner,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Rudin resigned from the League in 2021 after allegations of workplace bullying).—
Caitlin Huston,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Oct. 2025
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Now he's accused the Indianapolis Democrat of bullying and threatening him.—
Kayla Dwyer,
IndyStar,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Advertisement The arguments against conversion therapy aren’t about attacking religion or silencing free speech.—
Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez,
Time,
8 Oct. 2025
-
Sherrill has pinned the blame on the Republican candidate’s campaign, going so far as to run an ad attacking Ciattarelli over the issue.—
Caroline Vakil,
The Hill,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Supporters Emphasize Labor Protection Supporters of the changes argue that the rules are overdue to prevent misuse of the program.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Oct. 2025
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To treat stimulant misuse, the best evidence is for contingency management, Friedman said.—
Ciara McCarthy,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Israel has strongly denied allegations of mistreating the group.—
Catherine Nicholls,
CNN Money,
6 Oct. 2025
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The facility has also faced allegations of mistreating prisoners.—
Jade Jackson,
IndyStar,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mishandling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mishandling. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
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