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
Relevance
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
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 screwball
Stuart Miller, Oc Register, 6 Apr. 2026
Yes, this is a script that figured a big-budget gangster-monster epic could also manage to fit a screwball buddy comedy.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2026
Literary Hub, 25 Mar. 2026
The screwball comedy is one of the great gifts that 1930s Hollywood gave us, but that genre didn’t win too many awards.
—Jordan Hoffman, Vanity Fair, 16 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for screwball
Adjective
This is about family life for Malcolm, who spent his childhood caught in the middle of his family’s side-splitting, screwball dysfunction.
—Stuart Miller, Oc Register, 6 Apr. 2026
Yes, this is a script that figured a big-budget gangster-monster epic could also manage to fit a screwball buddy comedy.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2026
Noun
His new film, the screwball comedy What’s Up, Doc?, was on its way to becoming one of the biggest hits of the year.
—Literary Hub, 25 Mar. 2026
The screwball comedy is one of the great gifts that 1930s Hollywood gave us, but that genre didn’t win too many awards.
—Jordan Hoffman, Vanity Fair, 16 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for screwball
Recent Examples of Synonyms for screwball
Adjective
-
Through the fuzz and the bad camera angles emerges an extraordinary catalogue of dummies, flicks, and feints, a hodge-podge of silly tricks.—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
-
To lose that would be silly now.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
But what the New Yorker writer left behind is some of the finest prose of the 20th century, focusing primarily on the eccentrics, scalawags, seamen, and other denizens of New York’s dank corners.—
Air Mail,
Air Mail,
2 May 2026
-
The town’s overflowing with charming Midwest eccentrics, including a cocky mayor (Henry Winkler) and a welcoming barkeep (Lena Headey).—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
There is always the possibility that something absurd might occur — the equivalent of Neymar’s 2017 move to Paris Saint-Germain, for instance — but that’s extremely unlikely.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
27 May 2026
-
Ironically, the fears of two Republicans advancing were driven by Democratic data vendor Paul Mitchell, who built a prediction machine using absurd inputs like betting odds and polls that cannot account for things like rape allegations.—
Matt Fleming,
Oc Register,
27 May 2026
Noun
-
Canfield, as proven by her work in Stereophonic, is extremely able at playing a character with a pristine, almost porcelain surface and roiling depths.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
5 June 2026
-
Each of their characters has their foibles but neither ever leans unlikable.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
5 June 2026
Adjective
-
And that was so arrogant and stupid on my part.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
-
At some point, Brandon Aiyuk has to learn that stupid decisions come with consequences.—
Armando Salguero OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
Then there are oddballs – traction control – pretty rare in this class, alongside ABS, and a belt drive.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
11 May 2026
-
Wyck is an oddball — every town seems to have one.—
Maira Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
Adjective
-
If the target was foolish enough to reuse passwords, credential thefts like these could enable the compromise of more important accounts.—
Rob Pegoraro,
PC Magazine,
3 June 2026
-
Backing the Cubs right now seems foolish.—
David Troy OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
27 May 2026
Adjective
-
After eighteen months of crisis that saw historic urban fires, harassment by federal immigration authorities, and the generalized anxiety that attends a place where rents are high and services low, public transit inadequate and gas prices insane, the city’s vitality is flagging.—
Dana Goodyear,
New Yorker,
4 June 2026
-
Lots of wires, lots of insane stunts.—
Entertainment Weekly,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Screwball.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/screwball. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
