1
as in to abuse
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 to manhandle
to abuse physically
adopted a sadly mishandled puppy from the pound
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3
as in to mismanage
to manage badly
we took over as soon as we realized that the fill-in had been mishandling the situation
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Examples of mishandle in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Phillips has filed a federal civil suit against the city of Lansing, Ingham County, police officers and prosecutors for mishandling her case.
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Gina Barton, USA TODAY, 26 Sep. 2024
Following Hurricane Ida, a Texas law firm faced a federal investigation after allegedly mishandling thousands of lawsuits over property damage in Louisiana.
—Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 5 Oct. 2024
But that effort unraveled at a circuit court hearing last month, after new DNA testing revealed the murder weapon had been mishandled prior to the 2001 trial – contaminating the evidence meant to exonerate Williams and complicating his quest to prove his innocence.
—Cindy Von Quednow, CNN, 24 Sep. 2024
Hurts mishandled two snaps against the Green Bay Packers, once under center and once in the shotgun when the snap was early.
—Rohan Nadkarni, NBC News, 17 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mishandle 
Gina Barton, USA TODAY, 26 Sep. 2024
Following Hurricane Ida, a Texas law firm faced a federal investigation after allegedly mishandling thousands of lawsuits over property damage in Louisiana.
—Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 5 Oct. 2024
But that effort unraveled at a circuit court hearing last month, after new DNA testing revealed the murder weapon had been mishandled prior to the 2001 trial – contaminating the evidence meant to exonerate Williams and complicating his quest to prove his innocence.
—Cindy Von Quednow, CNN, 24 Sep. 2024
Hurts mishandled two snaps against the Green Bay Packers, once under center and once in the shotgun when the snap was early.
—Rohan Nadkarni, NBC News, 17 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mishandle
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mishandle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Mishandle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mishandle. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.
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