as in fumbled
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
I swear, she mucks up everything she tries
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Recent Examples of mucked up
Well, the first and third mucked up their stories with some overly contrived lore about cults and gods, and the fourth was an experiment for the formula that didn’t quite work.
—
Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 23 Jan. 2026
Lawmakers need to get back to Washington to end the government shutdown - a shutdown that has mucked up travel plans around the country by contributing to widespread flight delays.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 11 Nov. 2025
Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 23 Jan. 2026
Lawmakers need to get back to Washington to end the government shutdown - a shutdown that has mucked up travel plans around the country by contributing to widespread flight delays.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 11 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mucked up
Verb
-
When Kahn fumbled Rivaldo’s shot from the edge of the box, Ronaldo was on hand to convert the rebound.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
15 Feb. 2026
-
In turn, the Heat fumbled it away.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
10 Feb. 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
-
Duke blew a 15-point lead in the second half of that one and allowed the last nine points.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Simu Liu is attached in the lead role of Brad Katsuyama, who blew the whistle on high-tech corruption in the financial industry, with Anthony Bregman set to produce.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
These liberals have ruined this state.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Simple fasting from food can be ruined — rendered not pleasing to Allah — if spoiled by telling lies, slander, denouncing someone behind his back, swearing a false oath, greed or covetousness.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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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
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And Hila Abir, the sister of Lotan Abir, also murdered at the Nova festival, spoke at the Knesset hearing.—
Grace Gilson,
Sun Sentinel,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Families were ripped apart, with most, including mothers with children and the elderly, sent straight to death in gas chambers that at their peak murdered 6,000 people a day.—
Lesley Stahl,
CBS News,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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It has been used in other high-profile cases like that of Joseph DeAngelo, dubbed the Golden State Killer, and Bryan Kohberger, who was charged with the murder of four University of Idaho students in 2022.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
22 Feb. 2026
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Chayefsky was originally dubbed a voice-of-the-common-man scribe with a serious control-freak streak and, after his 1950s character study Marty became a sensation on both small and big screens, enough clout to enforce it.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
21 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mucked up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mucked%20up. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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