miswield

From mis- +‎ wield.

miswield (third-person singular simple present miswields, present participle miswielding, simple past and past participle miswielded)

1. To wield incorrectly or inappropriately.
   • 1995, Arnette Lamb, Carolyn Tolley, Maiden of Inverness, page 2:

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

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

     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.

   • 2007, Philip Ashton Rollins, The Cowboy, page 183:

     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.

   • 2023, David R. Samson, Our Tribal Future:

     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.