miswield

present singular third person miswields · participle present miswielding · participle past miswielded · past miswielded

1. To wield incorrectly or inappropriately.

   If his father miswielded his crutch and accidentally toppled the water bucket, Revas swore he'd left the pail in the way.

   1995, Arnette Lamb, Carolyn Tolley, Maiden of Inverness, page 2

   3 more examples

   But it isn't just far-right wackos who miswield the term: More moderate folks who aren't well versed in feminist history or theory tend to associate any outspoken expression of feminist leanings as "radical," so that any instance of speaking up, even softly, becomes associated with the word.

   2006, Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture - Issues 31-34, page 62

   So flagrantly did these gentlemen miswield the “running iron,” that several States eventually forbade its use by anybody, and everywhere its mere possession gave rise to suspicion.

   2007, Philip Ashton Rollins, The Cowboy, page 183

   Critical thinking (especially abused and miswielded by academics in the humanities, resulting in harmful post-modern ideologies that make illogical claims attacking the concept of truth itself) is often a dog whistle for the specific ideology of the professors that spread them.

   2023, David R. Samson, Our Tribal Future