as in fumbled
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
I've somehow buggered up the program again
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for buggered (up)
Verb
-
Dallas stumbled, fumbled and grumbled its way to a 122-92 loss, which was somehow not its most lopsided game of the season.—
Mike Curtis,
Dallas Morning News,
9 Mar. 2026 -
And the counseling office fumbled it.—
Sharyn Alfonsi,
CBS News,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The Big East acknowledged after the game the officials blew the calls.—
Senior Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Anything before not worth thinking about since this was the performance that stuck with me, the one that blew me away and turned me into a jazz fiend.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
That might be kind of screwed up.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
21 Feb. 2026
-
That seems like our priorities are screwed up.—
Terry Gross,
NPR,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Karaban almost had a costly turnover on an inbound play with 14 seconds left, but the Huskies fouled up three and Mulready split his free throw attempts, setting up the game-clinching freebies from the Huskies’ captain.—
Joe Arruda,
Hartford Courant,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Fans are convinced Musgraves is teasing a new album, which her fanbase has dubbed KM6.—
Ryan Brennan,
Kansas City Star,
6 Mar. 2026
-
For now, new products like Beyond Ground and Beyond Immerse are only available online through a website the company has dubbed Beyond Test Kitchen.—
Dee-Ann Durbin,
Fortune,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Davis believes her ex-husband was murdered, although a coroner ruled his death an overdose, the attorney said.—
Jessica Seaman,
Denver Post,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Murder is only a federal crime under certain circumstances, including when a person is murdered to prevent them or someone else from sharing information with federal authorities.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Why the mistake should have ruined your day, Miss Manners cannot guess.—
Judith Martin,
Dallas Morning News,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Greg Gutfeld is better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show.—
Raechal Shewfelt,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Mar. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Buggered (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/buggered%20%28up%29. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
