screwed up

verb

past tense of screw up
1
as in fumbled
to make a mistake we all screw up from time to time, so don't sweat it

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in blew
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

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 screwed up 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 That screwed up the works / And not due to his sloppy hiring / Of a crew of incompetent jerks. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 6 Aug. 2026 But four years ago, Sorsby screwed up in a massive way. — Trey Wallace Outkick, FOXNews.com, 2 June 2026 The Sens are going to lose their pick for nothing at all, because of how a GM their fans didn’t like screwed up a trade his team wasn’t even involved in. — Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2026 That might be kind of screwed up. — Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 21 Feb. 2026 That seems like our priorities are screwed up. — Terry Gross, NPR, 19 Feb. 2026 Kid Rock‘s lip-synch was screwed up. — Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 10 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for screwed up
  1. fumbled
  2. blew
  3. stumbled
  4. ruined
  5. slipped up
  6. fouled up
  7. tripped
  8. mucked up
Verb
  • In the bathroom, my fingers fumbled in the inner pocket of my jacket, searching for the passport.
    — Ledio Cakaj, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Despite rebounding with the wildly entertaining F9 in 2021, the Fast franchise fumbled the 10th chapter, which underperformed at the box office and didn’t exactly get fans hyped for the follow-up.
    — Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of fumbled
Verb
  • Two exes alleged Watts blew past their boundaries to satisfy his own needs.
    — Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Shakur’s killing on the Las Vegas Strip in 1996 blew these tensions wide open, though the case remained unsolved for decades.
    — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of blew
Verb
  • Then Sánchez’s eyes drifted up, his feet stumbled to a stop, and the ball bounced feet away from him on the turf.
    — Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The 40-year-old woman stumbled, sustaining an injury, police said.
    — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of stumbled
Verb
  • The influx all but ruined Sutter’s extensive land holdings around Sacramento, originally dubbed New Helvetia.
    — Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 15 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of ruined
Verb
  • The Iberians slipped up big time in their first match of the tournament, being shocked by Switzerland 1-0, bringing back ghosts of tournament failures past for Spanish fans.
    — Patrick Sung Cuadrado, CNN Money, 14 July 2026
  • Had Pep Guardiola’s side slipped up at a subdued Etihad, then Arsenal and Mikel Arteta could have won the title with victory over Burnley on Monday.
    — Sam Lee, New York Times, 13 May 2026
Definition of slipped up
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
  • The bear scratched his arm, and the victim tripped and injured his foot while trying to escape, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
    — Jon Haworth, ABC News, 19 Aug. 2026
  • His starting wide receivers both blew their knees out before week five and his starting quarterback tripped on his kid's skateboard and dislocated his elbow.
    — Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of tripped
Verb
  • 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
Definition of mucked up

Browse Nearby Words

screwed around
screwed up
screwing
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Cite this Entry

“Screwed up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/screwed%20up. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

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