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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

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

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

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

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

Brentford will be hoping promising midfielder Antoni Milambo can contribute after his debut season was ruined by an ACL injury in October.

— Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
Tuesday’s second callback inspection, third inspection overall, got ruined by two dead roaches under a dry storage shelf and four live roaches in dry storage.

— David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 14 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

Itzkowitz is the eldest son of Albert Itzkowitz, who was brutally murdered in broad daylight at Kissena Park in Queens on the afternoon of May 18.

— Simcha Itzkowitz, New York Daily News, 12 Aug. 2026
Security footage showed the van leaving the Home Depot parking lot shortly before Fandrich was murdered.

— Lauren Clark, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of murdered

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

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 18 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of mucked up

verb

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