GOOFED (UP) Synonyms: 82 Similar and Opposite Words

goofed (up)

verb

past tense of goof (up)

as in fumbled

to make a mistake we must have goofed up somewhere, because this cake clearly didn't turn out right

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in buggered (up)

to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way he goofed up his first sale at the dealership

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for goofed (up)

Verb

Lake Brantley appeared to have picked up the first down on third down but the ball was fumbled backwards to put the Patriots in fourth and long.

— Buddy Collings, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 Aug. 2026
After Carter Jensen flew out to deep center field, Caglianone tagged from second base and kept running toward home as outfielder Andy Pages fumbled the baseball out of his glove.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of fumbled

Verb

For more than a decade after, human-AI teams ruled the sport until AI alone blew past those hybrids by 2017.

— Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
An American Airlines flight blew two tires upon landing at Chicago O'Hare International Airport on Monday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

— Benjamin Stein, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of blew

Verb

Athletic Club stumbled through most of last season, in part due to star forward Nico Williams never reaching 100 per cent fitness.

— Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
Andropov died in 1984, and Gorbachev took more than a year to gain power while the Kremlin stumbled along under the caretaker regime of the grievously ill Konstantin Chernenko.

— Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of stumbled

Verb

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
That growth is mostly a testament to how screwed up our school bus system currently is.

— Maggie McGrath, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of screwed up

Verb

Though that region was dubbed the whisky capital of the world in the Victorian Era – with more than 30 distilleries in its midsts – today Glen Scotia is one of just three that remain.

— Brad Japhe, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2026
Some have dubbed the cover itself as racist, while others are saying Blanco’s non-Latin background as the problem.

— Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of dubbed

Verb

The Iberians slipped up big time in their first match of the tournament, being shocked by Switzerland 1-0, bringing back ghosts of tournament failures past for Spanish fans.

— Patrick Sung Cuadrado, CNN Money, 14 July 2026
Had Pep Guardiola’s side slipped up at a subdued Etihad, then Arsenal and Mikel Arteta could have won the title with victory over Burnley on Monday.

— Sam Lee, New York Times, 13 May 2026

Definition of slipped up

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

goofed on

goofed (up)

go off

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Goofed (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/goofed%20%28up%29. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of goofed (up)

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

balmy

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Is “GIF” Pronounced “Jiff” or “Giff”?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes