MUCKED UP Synonyms: 62 Similar and Opposite Words

mucked up

verb

past tense of muck up

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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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.

Recent Examples of mucked up An exciting World Cup run mucked up by a president for whom muck might as well be a currency. — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026 Even in the harshest descriptions of the violence and almost unbelievably cruel twists of fate that Yarris endured (the DNA testing keeps getting accidentally mucked up), Brody lends him a vital indomitable spark. — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2026 Toronto is a good defensive team but doesn’t shoot the 3-ball well and has a half-court offense that can get mucked up and relies heavily on midrange jumpers. — James L. Edwards Iii, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mucked up

Verb

In the bathroom, my fingers fumbled in the inner pocket of my jacket, searching for the passport.

— Ledio Cakaj, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2026
Despite rebounding with the wildly entertaining F9 in 2021, the Fast franchise fumbled the 10th chapter, which underperformed at the box office and didn’t exactly get fans hyped for the follow-up.

— Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of fumbled

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

Three winemakers earlier this month filed suit against the owner of Hundred Acre Wines, Jayson Woodbridge, and his company alleging that smoke from the wildfire ruined their harvests, the Press Democrat reported.

— Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
Authorities in Napa County have charged a man for allegedly setting the 2025 Pickett Fire near Calistoga, which burned thousands of acres of Wine Country and ruined grape harvests because of the smoke.

— Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of ruined

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

Curry is largely there for comic relief, swanning in with a bevy of beauties, challenging Bosley (Bill Murray) to a sumo match, and, sadly, getting murdered by the pool, thus depriving us of Curry’s magnetic presence for the rest of the film.

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 26 Aug. 2026
London, who was married to hip hop legend Nipsey Hussle, would come together with Snoop again to honor Nipsey after he was murdered in 2019.

— Justin Kroll, Deadline, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of murdered

Verb

The blaze, dubbed the Pickett fire, started near Calistoga last August and burned 6,800 acres over the course of 17 days, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

— Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
Once a package or tool was compromised, Shai-Hulud, as the worm was dubbed, attached itself to future package updates.

— Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of dubbed

Browse Nearby Words

mucked (out)

mucked up

muckety-muck

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“Mucked up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mucked%20up. Accessed 31 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of mucked up

verb

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