pawed
Handled without finesse
Pawed is the past tense of paw.
Animals paw at things with their feet: The horse pawed the ground impatiently.
People paw when they touch clumsily or too eagerly—often with unwanted sexual connotations: He pawed at her in the back seat.
Something pawed has been handled roughly or touched all over: pawed-over merchandise.
Felt about blindly
- fumbledHandled awkwardly, dropped
- grabbedTook suddenly by hand
- clutchedHeld firmly in hand
- manhandledHandled roughly or forcefully
mishandled · bungled · rummaged · scrabbled · flailed · grasped · snatched · awkward
Made shallow marks
- battedStruck with club
- swipedTook illicitly or scanned
- dugRemoved earth by shoveling
- kneadedManipulated by pressing repeatedly
clawed · swatted · nuzzled · sniffed · licked · nudged · prodded · pounced
groped
Felt about blindly
manhandled · mishandled · bungled · rummaged · scrabbled · flailed · grasped · snatched · awkward · rough
scratched
Made shallow marks
kneaded · clawed · swatted · nuzzled · sniffed · licked · nudged · prodded · pounced · playful
groped
Felt about blindly
manhandled · harassed · touched · invasive · inappropriate · creepy · leering · lecherous · unwelcome · violation
rummaged
Searched by displacing items
rooted · sorted · hunted · rifled · foraged · explored · searched · groped · fumbled · blindly