MOLESTING Synonyms: 44 Similar and Opposite Words

molesting

verb

present participle of molest

as in mistreating

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for molesting

Verb

Ever since these rideshare companies began in the early 2010s, they have been scrutinized for underpaying and mistreating drivers.

— Cyrus Farivar, ArsTechnica, 2 Oct. 2026
Even more consequentially, some jihadi groups turned Muslim publics against them by mistreating Muslim civilians.

— Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of mistreating

Verb

Massie’s Hegseth resolution, among other allegations, lays out charges of violating Congress’ war powers and carrying out extrajudicial killings.

— Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Two officers who conducted the internal investigation into Martin’s use of force sued the city for violating the Whistleblower Act, alleging they were retaliated against for recommending to Fitzgerald that Martin be fired.

— Emily Holshouser, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of violating

Verb

The Hitlerite hordes are murdering and outraging the peaceful inhabitants of our country, having no mercy on women, children or old people.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026
On Day 1 of the truce, and in the days since, Israel has stepped up attacks against Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy, in Lebanon, outraging Iran and leading to accusations the terms had been breached.

— Justin Fishel, ABC News, 10 Apr. 2026

Definition of outraging

Verb

Federal authorities on Thursday charged a Boston-area man with harassing Katie Miller, the conservative podcaster and wife of senior White House aide Stephen Miller, in a case that sparked a heated debate among prosecutors and within the FBI.

— Jeremy Roebuck, Washington Post, 1 Oct. 2026
The Lincoln-Way East High School board voted to allow six students accused of racially harassing students from Homewood-Flossmoor to withdraw.

— Darius Johnson, CBS News, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of harassing

Verb

As Rolling Stone and Sportico have reported, the Riverside plaintiffs all allege that the church should have known that Lorch was abusing children.

— Luke Cyphers, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2026
Damian Reynolds, 34, was sentenced to a 20-year prison sentence — the maximum allowed under the law —after he was convicted of abusing two women, according to the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office.

— Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of abusing

Verb

Hours later, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, announced the suspension of Acosta’s press pass, and, for good measure, falsely accused him of manhandling the aide who wanted the mike back.

— Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2026
Ashley Delaney of Polk City, who has served on the district's board since 2024, was charged in May with misdemeanor assault for allegedly manhandling the student.

— William Morris, Des Moines Register, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of manhandling

Verb

Guevara has never been charged with a crime in connection with allegedly torturing supsects, and the statute of limitations has long since expired on any such charges, Felker said.

— Chris Tye, CBS News, 5 Oct. 2026
In 1996, Pike was found guilty of first-degree murder for beating, torturing and killing Slemmer, a fellow Jobs Corps worker, in a remote area of the University of Tennessee Agricultural campus.

— Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of torturing

Verb

In 2022, two corrections officers at the Laurens County Detention Center in South Carolina were arrested and charged with brutalizing an inmate and using a GLOVE device to repeatedly stun them, CNN noted.

— Frank Landymore, Futurism, 12 Aug. 2026
Each competitor was giving it their all with brutalizing chops, tough suplexes and going above and beyond to try to win that championship.

— Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 15 July 2026

Definition of brutalizing

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.

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molesters

molesting

molests

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“Molesting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/molesting. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of molesting

verb

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