as in silly
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
she's always off on some screwball plan
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in eccentric
a person of odd or whimsical habits
a screwball who liked to save lint and bits of string
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of screwball
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 6 Feb. 2026
Over the course of the novel, each Flynn girl is suspended from school at least once for some screwball infraction, including spreading conspiratorial theories about covert surveillance operations in town, punching another kid in the face, and preparing to commit an act of domestic terrorism.
—Hannah Gold, New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2026
Time, 31 Dec. 2025
In spirit, however, this redo is pure 1930s screwball comedy.
—Amy Nicholson, Twin Cities, 14 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for screwball
Adjective
The best of all sports-movie subgenres, football films have given us great characters – real and fictional – and a bunch of awesome cinematic moments in everything from screwball comedies to real-life narratives.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 6 Feb. 2026
Over the course of the novel, each Flynn girl is suspended from school at least once for some screwball infraction, including spreading conspiratorial theories about covert surveillance operations in town, punching another kid in the face, and preparing to commit an act of domestic terrorism.
—Hannah Gold, New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2026
Noun
The film was instead a screwball comedy, one with an outrageous script written by John Landis (National Lampoon’s Animal House, 1978) and Jonathan Lynn (Yes Minister, 1980-84).
—Time, 31 Dec. 2025
In spirit, however, this redo is pure 1930s screwball comedy.
—Amy Nicholson, Twin Cities, 14 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for screwball
Recent Examples of Synonyms for screwball
Adjective
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In retaliation, Afroman released several songs about the experience, made music videos using his security-cam footage, and generally was a silly goose about the whole thing.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
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This confident Yale Rep production follows Ionesco’s lead by being very clear about its point but relentlessly silly while making it.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In 2015, Robert Durst, a wealthy eccentric linked to two killings and his wife’s disappearance, was arrested by the FBI in New Orleans on a murder warrant a day before HBO aired the final episode of a serial documentary about his life.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Feb. 2026
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On her trail are a Báthory relative who is vegetarian (Thomas Schubert), his psychotherapist (Lars Eidinger), two vampirologists, a police inspector and a gallery of eccentrics.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
14 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Shawn Hatosy is particularly feral here, injecting real menace into an otherwise absurd premise.—
Ana Gutierrez,
Austin American Statesman,
20 Mar. 2026
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The deadpan one-liners exaggerating his strength, speed and toughness to absurd levels, turned Norris into one of the internet’s first global memes.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Moments of narration and visual maximalism — characters floating, feelings made literal — push the film into more experimental territory, while appearances from Rubén Blades and Cheech Marin add cultural texture.—
Ana Gutierrez,
Austin American Statesman,
20 Mar. 2026
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One thing Sandlin says SMU tries to ascertain about a player is their play character.—
Joseph Hoyt,
Dallas Morning News,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Of all the live-action shows made by Adult Swim, Three Busy Debras is the most cartoonish; its world is as elastic and stupid as any Chuck Jones Looney Tunes joint.—
Eric Vilas-Boas,
Vulture,
18 Mar. 2026
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Anyone who says anything else is stupid or lying.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In Season 1, eight years after an unforgivable mistake nukes his promising college football career, hotshot quarterback Russ Holliday (Powell) tries to resurrect his dreams by disguising himself as Chad Powers — a talented oddball who walks on to the struggling South Georgia Catfish.—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
5 Mar. 2026
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The Sun Belt is the only real exception, having now defined itself as FBS’ actual Southeastern conference, partly by losing its former oddballs like Idaho and New Mexico State.—
Jason Kirk,
New York Times,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Your fast response and decisive actions prevented this foolish criminal act from endangering the rest of the county.—
Christa Swanson,
CBS News,
18 Mar. 2026
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The limited series feels equally foolish, down to its last line of narration.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
18 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The first six years of the Black Crowes were insane to process.—
Devon Ivie,
Vulture,
19 Mar. 2026
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An optimist and networker with Harpo Marx hair, he was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame in 2023 for helping invent the HTTPS encryption system and was among the first to take AI seriously, back when AI seemed even more insane.—
Joe Hagan,
Vanity Fair,
18 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Screwball.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/screwball. Accessed 22 Mar. 2026.
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