well-handled

adjective

Definition of well-handlednext
as in worn

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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 well-handled That scene was potentially such a minefield, but so well-handled. — Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 10 Aug. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for well-handled
  1. worn
  2. aged
  3. shopworn
  4. shabby
  5. spoiled
  6. old
  7. beat-up
  8. stale
Adjective
  • If sneakers are your most worn style of shoes, a pair of canvas Keds have a similar subtle slim silhouette and French Girl vibe to them as a pair of jazz shoes.
    — Kaitlin Clapinski, InStyle, 16 July 2026
  • In her Instagram carousel shared on July 5, Dunham also showed off a chartreuse skirt suit look, presumably worn for the rehearsal party the night prior.
    — Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 6 July 2026
Definition of worn
Adjective
  • Two 20-something girlfriends shared a plate to my right, while a group of middle-aged white men traveling from Houston took up a conversation with the cashier.
    — Sophie Lindberg, Kansas City Star, 17 July 2026
  • The trial enrolled middle-aged and older men with hypogonadism who already had cardiovascular disease or were at high risk.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 17 July 2026
Definition of aged
Adjective
  • Perhaps most astonishingly, the movie manages to make creepy clowns — that shopworn trope — genuinely frightening again.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 7 July 2026
  • The Broncos look slow, sloppy, shopworn and stale.
    — Joe Nguyen, Denver Post, 6 Nov. 2025
Definition of shopworn
Adjective
  • The Aragon, which later generations experienced mainly as a shabby, sticky home for loud rock music, was once the North Side’s hub for romance, where young men and women came in droves to dance to mellow music in an elegant atmosphere.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 13 July 2026
  • Mending — and shabby clothes in general — were no longer popular.
    — The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 July 2026
Definition of shabby
Adjective
  • When an engine fire knocked out power and plumbing for five days, 4,000 passengers were stranded with overflowing sewage — including, yes, poop — spoiled food and unbearable heat.
    — Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 14 July 2026
  • Additionally, 85 million pounds of food thawed, burned and spoiled inside, creating a terrible smell that emanated from the property.
    — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026
Definition of spoiled
Adjective
  • The 19-year-old also said that France should fear Spain due to Spain’s recent success against Les Bleus.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 July 2026
  • The 29-year-old signed with San Francisco in free agency on a one-year, $12-million contract.
    — Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 15 July 2026
Definition of old
Adjective
  • The new place has a bar to belly up to, a beat-up car for families and kids to play in and pose for the 'Gram and TikTok, and colorful neon signs.
    — Charlie D'Agata, CBS News, 10 June 2026
  • The recto portrays, in exactingly realistic detail, a locked and beat-up steel rolldown gate, as only the Lower East Side knows them, perforated with 15 black holes begging to be poked through.
    — Lori Waxman, Chicago Tribune, 10 June 2026
Definition of beat-up
Adjective
  • Indeed, the folks in Akron, Amherst and Monroe, among other locales, have long awaited the winds of change, which have avoided blowing out the stale air caused by chronic losing.
    — Tom Layberger, Forbes.com, 6 July 2026
  • The shtick grew a little old, a little stale, and a little tired.
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of stale

Browse Nearby Words

well-grounded
well-handled
wellhead
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Well-handled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/well-handled. Accessed 19 Jul. 2026.

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