as in fumbling
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
I've somehow buggered up the program again
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for buggering (up)
Verb
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But the Patriots gave it right back as Rhamondre Stevenson, who has had trouble fumbling early this season, was stripped after catching a pass from Maye.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
6 Oct. 2025 -
Although the scoring position turnover trend continued, with CJ Stokes and Javen Nicholas fumbling in plus-territory on consecutive drives in the third quarter, the offense was much improved with Wilcke in the game.—
Hunter Bailey,
Charlotte Observer,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Equating your value to your bank account, or blowing cash to feel validated.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
Refinery29,
5 Oct. 2025
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He and his apprentices host glass- blowing classes on Fridays and Saturdays (reservation required), when guests can make anything from a bowl to a tumbler to an ornament.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Best of all though is Reeves, channeling his own 1989 comic past from Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure or a bit of Todd Higgins from Parenthood to bring deadpan delight as the well-meaning but constantly screwing up angel trying to do good but being so bad at it.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
7 Sep. 2025
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As Nick in the present-adjacent day sure knows a hell of a lot about Dante Alighieri, perhaps the best person to criticize him and recognize his gaps in logic and knowledge, and how Nick is so profoundly screwing up his own life, would be Dante himself.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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What's mucking up the process is a telepathic outlier named The Mule (Pilou Asbæk), whose ravenous appetite for galactic dominance has created anomalies in Seldon's branching prognostications of how this whole ordeal will unfold.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
29 Aug. 2025
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The hydrogen flow keeps vaporized tin from mucking up the system’s optics.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
12 June 2023
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Cite this Entry
“Buggering (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/buggering%20%28up%29. Accessed 11 Oct. 2025.
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