mishandle
To manipulate something roughly, causing physical damageTo manipulate something roughly, causing physical damage.
» Be careful not to drop or mishandle your tortoise.
Amastan · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
2 senses(transitive)To manipulate something roughly, causing physical damage.
If you mishandle a fragile package, the contents may break.
(transitive)To deal with a situation incorrectly or ineffectively; to make a mistake in handling a situation.
The prime minister was accused of mishandling the diplomatic crisis.
- manage badly or incompetently
- make a mess of, destroy or ruin
Examples
4 sentencesBe careful not to drop or mishandle your tortoise.
Be cautious with glass containers, as they can break if mishandled in the fridge.
Tom mishandles his money.
You're twisting my words around, you're making it sound like I mishandled the situation, which cannot be further from the truth.
Translations
1 languagesOrigin
From Middle English mishandlen, equivalent to mis- + handle. Cognate with Saterland FrisiaFrom Middle English mishandlen, equivalent to mis- + handle. Cognate with Saterland Frisian mishondelje, West Frisian mishandelje, Dutch mishandelen (“to mistreat”), German misshandeln (“to mistreat”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
mishandles, mishandling, mishandled, mishandled| Base form | mishandle · to mishandle |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | mishandles |
| Present participle | mishandling |
| Past simple | mishandled |
| Past participle | mishandled |
regular · Lesson
Synonyms
27 synonymsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.