buggered (up)

verb

past tense of bugger (up)
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)
  1. fumbled
  2. blew
  3. screwed up
  4. fouled up
  5. dubbed
  6. murdered
  7. ruined
Verb
  • Replay review confirmed that Bachmeier had indeed fumbled, and separately confirmed that Moa had scored.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Earlier, Jones fumbled after backup tailback Evan Pryor failed to pick up Georgia linebacker Quintavius Johnson, who knocked the ball out of Jones’ hand.
    — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of fumbled
Verb
  • Then, however, the whistle blew and officials said that the previous incomplete pass intended for Tremble was under review.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 9 Nov. 2026
  • The long school holiday was coming to an end, and though the sunlight still offered the brightness of summer, the breeze that blew suggested the sombre quality of autumn.
    — Yasushi Inoue, New Yorker, 8 Nov. 2026
Definition of blew
Verb
  • That doesn’t mean the Yankees screwed up in their process by trading for Stanton.
    — Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Every time a player screwed up, the coaching staff and his teammates received a text message, calling out both the infraction and the guilty party.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of screwed up
Verb
  • But their strategy was fouled up when the car’s occupants switched on the headlights, throwing a glare up the tote road along which the wardens had planned to sprint.
    — Dave Duffey, Outdoor Life, 26 Mar. 2026
  • Wild turkeys gobbled up Staten Island straphangers’ time on Monday, after a flock fouled up service on the Staten Island Railway.
    — Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 17 Mar. 2026
Definition of fouled up
Verb
  • At the time, the company said Fauna would become part of a new division dubbed the Personal Robotics Group.
    — Annie Palmer, CNBC, 8 Nov. 2026
  • In addition to its one-off paintwork, the vehicle was outfitted with a matching red-leather interior—dubbed Silver Arrow—with contrasting yellow stitching, and features widened front seats and special Alutex aluminum trim as opposed to carbon fiber.
    — Howard Walker, Robb Report, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of dubbed
Verb
  • Detectives from the start suspected Panetti had been murdered.
    — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 2 Nov. 2026
  • It was consecrated by James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, young Black and Jewish men murdered together in 1964 for their work to register Black voters.
    — Seth Limmer, Chicago Tribune, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of murdered
Verb
  • Glancing down at my hands, the jungle-green polish from Lima was hopelessly chipped, ruined by river mud and rain.
    — Liam Hess, Vogue, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Filming the kiss scene in public with dozens of bystanders armed with cell phone watching proved a challenge but, luckily, no one ruined the surprise.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of ruined
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.

Browse Nearby Words

buggered off
buggered (up)
buggering off
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Buggered (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/buggered%20%28up%29. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gauntlet

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All