1
as in abuses
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in manhandles
to abuse physically
adopted a sadly mishandled puppy from the pound
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in mismanages
to manage badly
we took over as soon as we realized that the fill-in had been mishandling the situation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mishandles
Verb
-
But outside of the ring, Christy hides and represses her lesbianism and winds up marrying her trainer Jim Martin (Ben Foster), who manipulates and physically abuses her.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Victor’s own father is obsessed with legacy and perfection and mistreats his boy, and that cycle continues with Victor and the Creature.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Mihály is a brute who mistreats his mother.—
Adam Solomons,
IndieWire,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Yes, Carr’s threat likely violates the First Amendment, legal scholars say, but that only matters if Disney is willing to go to court.—
Winston Cho,
HollywoodReporter,
19 Sep. 2025
-
TikTok sued, arguing that a ban violates users' free speech rights, but the law was upheld in early January by the Supreme Court.—
John Ruwitch,
NPR,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The fervor with which Stamp attacks the role was evident right from the first table read, according to his co-star Lesley Ann Warren.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
19 Sep. 2025
-
Gnosia is an enemy that disguises itself as a human and attacks them.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Chronic financial stress raises cortisol levels, which, over time, damages the immune system, increases risk for hypertension and heart disease and worsens mental health.—
Dr. Melissa Weathersby,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
-
In particular, a significant amount of rubble is visible in the streets of Jabalya and Sheikh Radwan, apparently caused by direct fire that damages the sides of buildings without appearing on satellite imagery.—
Zeena Saifi,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Automobility directly or indirectly causes one in 34 deaths annually, injures more than 100 million people a year, and has killed as many people as the two World Wars combined.—
Henrietta Moore,
Fortune,
16 Sep. 2025
-
If a dog that has not been officially declared dangerous severely injures or kills a person when unprovoked, authorities may confiscate the dog, and the dog’s owner is liable for the incident.—
Amanda Rosa,
Miami Herald,
8 Sep. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Mishandles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mishandles. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share