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 The initial shock of this freak accident is well-handled, notably when Jay tries to scramble up the whale’s jawline by climbing its teeth. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026 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
  • An army of Janeites, no doubt wielding their worn copies of Sense and Sensibility, are marching into cinemas around the world to watch an adaptation for a whole new generation.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The once grand building, where celebrities and socialites have slept, lived, and partied for decades, is undeniably shabby, with worn carpets and crumbling plumbing.
    — Kim Velsey, Curbed, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of worn
Adjective
  • The menu makes use of open-fire cooking, particularly the searing of dry-aged steaks.
    — Connie Ogle, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Inspired by director Josef Kubota Wladyka’s own mother, the film offers a refreshingly frank portrait of middle-aged female desire.
    — Lisa Wong Macabasco, Vogue, 23 Oct. 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 once grand building, where celebrities and socialites have slept, lived, and partied for decades, is undeniably shabby, with worn carpets and crumbling plumbing.
    — Kim Velsey, Curbed, 15 Oct. 2026
  • These shabby little movie houses, tucked away in the back alleys of Shinjuku, smelled of urine and stale tobacco.
    — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of shabby
Adjective
  • Supermarket staffers were confronted by pools of water beneath freezers and spoiled produce earlier this week after hackers took control of refrigerators in hundreds of grocery stores across France.
    — Sana Noor Haq, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The Paris prosecutor’s office said Tuesday that its cybercrime unit was investigating the large-scale attack, including the extent of damage caused by spoiled food and reports of fires.
    — Angela Charlton, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of spoiled
Adjective
  • The pickup’s driver, a 34-year-old woman from Garden City, Kansas, was taken into custody but was later released after police consulted with the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.
    — Maggie Vespa, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Melanie Lawrence, a 68-year-old independent, worries about wells going dry in her area near Willcox, where the groundwater grew so depleted that the land started to crack.
    — Hannah Knowles The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of old
Adjective
  • The sill holds a beat-up VHS copy of Boogie Nights alongside a jar of tools.
    — Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 19 Oct. 2026
  • It’ll be filled with plenty of work to do and useful downtime for the beat-up SEC contender.
    — PJ Green, Kansas City Star, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of beat-up
Adjective
  • Camera footage showed that Lopez’s truck approached the stale green light at 165th Street at a high rate of speed, which changed to yellow as the truck went through the intersection, court records state.
    — Post-Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Without that provenance, the agent can’t reliably distinguish current operational truth from stale, incomplete or manipulated information.
    — Shekhar Iyer, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of stale

Browse Nearby Words

well-grounded
well-handled
wellhead
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Cite this Entry

“Well-handled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/well-handled. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

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