1
as in mistake
an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy
clearly, there's been some sort of screwup about what time we were supposed to meet
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to fumble
to make a mistake
we all screw up from time to time, so don't sweat it
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to blow
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
you've totally screwed up the spreadsheet
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of screwup
Andrew Bernard, The Washington Examiner, 3 Oct. 2025
Travis is a well-meaning screwup who comes from a family of cops but can’t get a place on the police force.
—Robert Lloyd, Boston Herald, 7 Aug. 2025
Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 10 Feb. 2026
The meal was burritos, which, Levy explained, are hard to screw up.
—Jane Bua, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for screwup
Noun
Vince is the screwup, a mostly-former drug and gambling addict, while Jake is a successful restaurateur, running the eponymous club/restaurant Black Rabbit in Manhattan.
—Andrew Bernard, The Washington Examiner, 3 Oct. 2025
Travis is a well-meaning screwup who comes from a family of cops but can’t get a place on the police force.
—Robert Lloyd, Boston Herald, 7 Aug. 2025
Verb
Kid Rock‘s lip-synch was screwed up.
—Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 10 Feb. 2026
The meal was burritos, which, Levy explained, are hard to screw up.
—Jane Bua, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for screwup
Recent Examples of Synonyms for screwup
Noun
-
Yet another defensive mistake by Baylor opened the door for the Longhorns to add on.—
David Eckert,
Austin American Statesman,
1 Mar. 2026
-
Find the groups without making four mistakes.—
Mark Cooper,
New York Times,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
At Nadeau’s Ice Sculptures, the oldest carving factory in America, a team of former archaeologists and butchers creates ephemeral art designed to be licked, touched, and eventually, lost.—
Blair Braverman,
Outside,
3 Mar. 2026
-
The affable butcher first opened Tip Top Meats in Glendale in 1967 before moving it permanently to Carlsbad in 1980.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
When the first part of season four ends with Benedict fumbling through a disastrous proposal that Sophie become his mistress, Ha does not crumple or explode in fury.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Cornell fumbled with Mercader’s clothing, trying to find them.—
Josh Ireland,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
After blowing a three-run lead, Harvard-Westlake still came out on top with a 4-3 victory over Huntington Beach on Tuesday when Ethan Price delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth inning.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Mar. 2026
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Since that point, the price of the precious metal has blown past $5,000, set several new all-time highs and handed investors more than 100% returns in a single year.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
3 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
With Israel’s borderlands in ruins and hundreds of its citizens taken hostage, the country’s voters could no longer countenance their leader’s quietism, which now looked like a historic blunder.—
Yair Rosenberg,
The Atlantic,
2 Mar. 2026
-
In the experiments, observers consistently judged everyday blunders to be relatively harmless, even when the person committing them appeared mortified.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar stumbled, springing a 2-on-1 break with Boldy feeding a cross-ice pass to Marcus Johansson, whose wrist shot hit the left post, then got a piece of the goalie before a Colorado defender swatted it away from the goalmouth.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Surveillance video from that night shows a man wearing a Blackhawks jersey entering the store, then stumbling out before a struggle spilled into the street.—
Darius Johnson,
CBS News,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
1 Mar. 2026
-
Cops say the $89 pair of boots were ruined.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
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While minimally invasive procedures have improved cardiac care, the heart’s complex anatomy and constant motion require rigorous hands-on training to reduce procedural errors.—
Munis Raza,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Keller said the key for students is learning which AI models fit which tasks, how to write useful prompts and how to check results for errors.—
Wilborn P. Nobles III,
Dallas Morning News,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Screwup.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/screwup. Accessed 8 Mar. 2026.
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