mishandle
Americanverb (used with object)
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to handle badly; maltreat.
to mishandle a dog.
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to manage badly.
to mishandle an estate.
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to lose or misplace.
to mishandle baggage.
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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mishandlesimple
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mishandlessimple
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have mishandledperfect
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has mishandledperfect
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am mishandlingprogressive
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are mishandlingprogressive
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is mishandlingprogressive
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have been mishandlingperfect progressive
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has been mishandlingperfect progressive
Past
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mishandledsimple
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had mishandledperfect
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was mishandlingprogressive
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were mishandlingprogressive
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had been mishandlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mishandle
Explanation
When you mishandle something, you make a mess of it. For example, a teacher who mishandles a classroom loses control of his students. An entrepreneur who mishandles an important meeting at her bank might have lost an opportunity to borrow money for her business, and a dog trainer who mishandles an aggressive dog might end up getting bitten. When you handle something, you deal with it, and when you add the Old English prefix mis-, it means that you've dealt with it in a "wrong" or "bad" way.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
On cold tires, cars like the Ferrari don’t handle; they mishandle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
An independent investigation found that Wada did not mishandle the case or show bias towards the Chinese swimmers.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2024
Wednesday was the best game that Clark had played all season, even if she did start 1 for 7 from the field and mishandle an inbound pass in the final seconds of the fourth quarter.
From Seattle Times ● May 22, 2024
Davis will be the kick returner to open the regular season, although he did mishandle a punt in the Chargers’ second preseason game, the ball eventually going out of bounds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2023
How can there be a public opinion concerning my book, he cries to us, if every journalist is to regard me as an outlaw, and to mishandle me as much as he likes?
From Thoughts out of Season Part I by Ludovici, Anthony M. (Anthony Mario)
And as Xi warned that the world's two largest economies could "come into conflict" if Washington mishandles the Taiwan issue, minor skirmishes broke out on the sidelines of their meeting.
From Barron's ● May 14, 2026
A majority of consumers of Asian and Pacific Islander descent are not willing to shrug off media and advertising that ridicules or mishandles their culture.
From Seattle Times ● May 1, 2024
If a company mishandles user data that it holds, like in the event of a data breach, the business has 72 hours to alert EU users who were affected.
From Slate ● May 24, 2018
“In Chocolate We Trust” tells a great story, pertinent and fascinating, although Kurie’s careful anthropological approach possibly mishandles it.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 29, 2018
I wish you could see the way he mishandles a cigar.
From Quill's Window by McCutcheon, George Barr
The US Department of Justice then opened an investigation into whether Bolton had mishandled classified information by disclosing parts of it in the book.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
"If mishandled, the two nations could collide or even come into conflict, pushing the entire China-US relationship into a highly perilous situation," he said.
From Barron's ● May 14, 2026
It seeks millions of dollars of fines and possible suspension of the carrier’s license to sell insurance in California, alleging State Farm mishandled January 2025 wildfire claims.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
The whistleblower said the bank violated rules meant to protect confidential information about clients and transactions from being mishandled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
It was a question of whether Rindlisbacher had mishandled his initial contact with Reggie.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Bolton pleaded guilty this morning to mishandling classified government information.
From Slate ● Jun. 26, 2026
"He also knew the damage to national security that could be caused by mishandling that sensitive information," she said.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
Anger at the exam mishandling has been channelled by the newly-founded satirical "Cockroach People's Party", which has won millions of followers on social media since its launch in May.
From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026
The Chinese leader’s comment that any mishandling of Taiwan could lead to “an extremely dangerous situation” raised an issue that has loomed over President Trump’s trip.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
Jones was a large man and strong enough to shake off his attackers, but he did not respond to his mishandling with force of his own.
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
