as in shambles
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cock-up
Noun
-
This might seem like a minor quibble, but the fact that the new movie botches the whole wait-what-did-they-actually-do-last-summer thing speaks to a prevailing sense of laziness.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
16 July 2025 -
The 10-member panel’s first time out, in 2022, was a total botch, as the process was unconstitutionally hijacked by Democrats in the Legislature until it was stopped by the state’s highest court.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
19 June 2025
Noun
-
If the mess-maker is solid, use a spatula, dull kitchen knife, or the edge of a credit card to lift it from the surface of the upholstery.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
6 Sep. 2025
-
The first crazy thing that happens to the movie Smurls is when a kitchen chandelier almost falls on them, though the most visceral is when oldest sister Dawn Smurl (Beau Gadsdon) suddenly vomits up pieces of glass, leaving the sink and her face a bloody mess.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Following that fiasco, Ansari began work on directing a new feature inspired by yet another sociological muse.—
Hershal Pandya,
Vulture,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Already hacked off by the renovation fiasco, the company’s longtime patrons pounced, accusing the corporation of betraying its history and values.—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
At the moment, official policy appears to be a complete muddle.—
Bill McKibben,
New Yorker,
26 Aug. 2025
-
Direct lines of contact between the two powers devolved into a muddle of nuclear threats, insults and ultimatums.—
Simon Shuster,
Time,
8 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Bureau staff were told the group itself, already gutted as part of mass layoffs at the State Department in July, would refocus on migration diplomacy and disaster response rather than its traditional refugee focus.—
Ted Hesson,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
-
That question frames an episode that opens not with battle, but with the kind of stillness that comes before disaster.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The bunt, however, might have been a sign that the Angels were starting fresh after playing a debacle of a game fundamentally the night before.—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
10 Sep. 2025
-
There’s enough blame to fill what’s left of the world’s melting glaciers after this debacle of an opener in which the Dolphins were dominated, 33-8, by a mediocre Colts team and looks further from contention than any time this decade.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
7 Sep. 2025
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
“Cock-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cock-up. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share