as in fumbling
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 mucking up
Amid the memory shortage that's mucking up component prices globally, at least Qualcomm has some promising news for folks hoping to pay less for a daily driver.
—
Florence Ion, PC Magazine, 7 May 2026
At least not Will Welch, GQ’s longstanding editor-in-chief and global editorial director, who was absolutely zen about the threat of an atmospheric river mucking up the mag’s Men of the Year celebration last night.
—Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 14 Nov. 2025
What's mucking up the process is a telepathic outlier named The Mule (Pilou Asbæk), whose ravenous appetite for galactic dominance has created anomalies in Seldon's branching prognostications of how this whole ordeal will unfold.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 29 Aug. 2025
The hydrogen flow keeps vaporized tin from mucking up the system’s optics.
—IEEE Spectrum, 12 June 2023
Florence Ion, PC Magazine, 7 May 2026
At least not Will Welch, GQ’s longstanding editor-in-chief and global editorial director, who was absolutely zen about the threat of an atmospheric river mucking up the mag’s Men of the Year celebration last night.
—Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 14 Nov. 2025
What's mucking up the process is a telepathic outlier named The Mule (Pilou Asbæk), whose ravenous appetite for galactic dominance has created anomalies in Seldon's branching prognostications of how this whole ordeal will unfold.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 29 Aug. 2025
The hydrogen flow keeps vaporized tin from mucking up the system’s optics.
—IEEE Spectrum, 12 June 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mucking up
Verb
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But then again, neither is the Bears fumbling and bumbling.—
Jon Greenberg,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
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Like, for example, calling a risky trick play in South Bend that resulted in wide receiver Makai Lemon fumbling on first-and-10 from the Notre Dame 37-yard line down three points in the fourth quarter.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
25 May 2026
Verb
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Myers nails the realistic teen who is a far cry from the unflappable Nancy Drew, screwing up plenty and often terrified of what she's gotten herself into.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 May 2026
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First of all, don’t hide misdeeds and screwups, which comes naturally by not committing misdeeds and not screwing up.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 May 2026
Verb
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Whenever your outfit feels a little plain, these goodies will inject some welcome personality—all without blowing a hole in your budget.—
Jake Henry Smith,
Glamour,
8 June 2026
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Another dramatic scene from West Virginia showed wind blowing a tent across a lawn, and dragging several people along with it, during a college basketball game between West Virginia University and Cal Poly.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
8 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mucking up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mucking%20up. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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