1
as in to distort
to twist (something) out of a natural or normal shape or condition
screwed up his face at the taste of the medicine
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to squeeze
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
managed to screw his siblings out of their share of the inheritance
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of screw
Was Tony Kiritsis really screwed out of a legitimate business deal?
—
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 5 Feb. 2026
Nevertheless, on a clear if cold day the three walked through several inches of snow, screwing in the new signs.
—Jesse Wright, Chicago Tribune, 5 Feb. 2026
Were you all screwed by not having anyone in the turret to help protect you?
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Jan. 2026
Basically, our government helped the rich get richer while working families got screwed.
—Ana María Archila, New York Daily News, 30 Jan. 2026
Add the ground coffee to the funnel filter and screw on the top chamber.
—Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 24 Jan. 2026
That doesn’t mean you’re screwed if your job is highly repetitive.
—Korin Miller, SELF, 23 Jan. 2026
In the last few years, Scandinavia has become the global center for all manner of uncanny cloud rock and ambient pop wonder, from the dreamy Danes to screw-pop savants like Smerz.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 22 Jan. 2026
Bland policy proposals without a narrative explaining who is getting screwed and who is doing the screwing will not work.
—ABC News, 18 Jan. 2026
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 5 Feb. 2026
Nevertheless, on a clear if cold day the three walked through several inches of snow, screwing in the new signs.
—Jesse Wright, Chicago Tribune, 5 Feb. 2026
Were you all screwed by not having anyone in the turret to help protect you?
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Jan. 2026
Basically, our government helped the rich get richer while working families got screwed.
—Ana María Archila, New York Daily News, 30 Jan. 2026
Add the ground coffee to the funnel filter and screw on the top chamber.
—Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 24 Jan. 2026
That doesn’t mean you’re screwed if your job is highly repetitive.
—Korin Miller, SELF, 23 Jan. 2026
In the last few years, Scandinavia has become the global center for all manner of uncanny cloud rock and ambient pop wonder, from the dreamy Danes to screw-pop savants like Smerz.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 22 Jan. 2026
Bland policy proposals without a narrative explaining who is getting screwed and who is doing the screwing will not work.
—ABC News, 18 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for screw
Verb
-
Since his return to office in 2025, this firehose of lies has only accelerated, distorting everything from economic data to constitutional law.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, said the data was distorted by the timing of the Lunar New Year, which falls in mid-February this year after taking place in January last year.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Impacciatore, squeezed into a skin-tight Power Rangers suit, performed an entire clowning routine where she’s accosted by abstract embodiments of various winter sports throughout history.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Sometimes, producers work with players to squeeze their take into the allotted time.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Hadi tells an engaging story, brings complex and surprising characters to life, lends a locale an aesthetic iconography, and renders personal identity inextricable from the forces of history that shaped or deformed it.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Conventional drones hit their limits at around 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) as their frame deforms and electronics fail.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Over the past year, men’s ski jumping has been marred by Norway’s cheating scandal and more recent genital manipulation rumors, which has become one of the early commotions of the Milano-Cortina Games.—
Sara Germano,
Sportico.com,
8 Feb. 2026
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Among the reasons Belichick was not inducted are his involvement in cheating scandals, such as Spygate and Deflategate, according to ESPN.—
Rohan Nadkarni,
NBC news,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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For the entire 15-minute show, they’ve been contorted into pieces of furniture Lawson fabricated, pieces befitting something between an asylum and BDSM dungeon, and reminiscent of Allen Jones’s 1960s Pop sculpture series, which depicts fiberglass women in fetishware as home objects.—
Anna Peele,
Vanity Fair,
6 Feb. 2026
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But film and television stars lately have been contorting themselves to say less.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Over at Azur on Luminara, the menu reinvents itself every two days to mirror the port of call, like someone plucked the best taverna dishes off the coast and casually plated them in front of you.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 Feb. 2026
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This is ideal for decades of sliding across the ice, because bigger mineral grains are more likely to get plucked out by the ice, leaving holes in the surface that could cause unpredictable behavior.—
Andrea Thompson,
Scientific American,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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So far, he’s been spotted draped in a full-length, white fluffy coat and fire engine-red hat and gloves, watching the women’s downhill race, and casually chatting with onlookers at the curling mixed doubles, adorned in a zip-jacket emblazoned with Team USA players’ faces.—
Sheena McKenzie,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
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Acuff later attempted an alley-oop with Isaiah Sealy, who couldn't get a reverse layup from his waist to curl in the basket.—
Matt Byrne,
Arkansas Online,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The crucial employment snapshot is slightly delayed because of the brief government shutdown and will show whether the trajectory improved for the US labor market, which has been stuck in a low-hire and low-fire lull.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
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The littlest boy pulled out a strikingly large gun and stuck it in my face.—
Michael Powell,
The Atlantic,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Screw.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/screw. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.
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