as in to fumble
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
I've somehow buggered up the program again
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bugger (up)
Verb
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Ball security The Hurricanes have fumbled the ball four times in the past two games and lost two of them — one apiece by Malachi Toney (first round against Texas A&M) and Fletcher (quarterfinal against Ohio State).—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
7 Jan. 2026 -
Herbert, who threw four interceptions in his last postseason appearance, fumbled five times after only coughing up the ball twice in his first 12 games this season.—
Greg Dudek,
Boston Herald,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Be careful when handling debris that may have blown into your yard.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
12 Jan. 2026
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Somehow, this new sensation emitted an awareness of the magnitude in which skateboarding would warp my life, which only ratcheted up the anxiety of blowing it.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Also, if Utah or Miami were to score an upset in the opening round, St. Louis would have first dibs at taking that team instead of Orlando, which would foul up these predictions completely.—
Todd Boss,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
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Year-long court battles have been waged over exactly how clean the water in the Everglades has to be without fouling up the whole system.—
Alex Harris
July 3,
Miami Herald,
3 July 2025
Verb
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Tim overcame his fear of screwing up again and asked Lucy to move in.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
6 Jan. 2026
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Jessica and Ashlee Simpson, ‘The Little Drummer Boy’ There really aren’t many ways to screw up a straightforward ballad that needs only a rolling snare drum as required instrumentation, but leave it to the Simpson sisters circa 2004 to burn it all down.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
4 Dec. 2025
Verb
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And, from this week’s issue, Nicola Twilley’s reporting on another lingering effect of the wildfires—smoke taint that is ruining grapes and threatening California’s wine industry.—
Dana Goodyear,
New Yorker,
7 Jan. 2026
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This will either change your life or ruin you.—
Outside Online,
Outside Online,
7 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Bugger (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugger%20%28up%29. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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