SCREWED UP Synonyms: 82 Similar and Opposite Words

screwed up

verb

past tense of screw up

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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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 That doesn’t mean the Yankees screwed up in their process by trading for Stanton. — Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026 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 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

Verb

Carr fumbled while trying to spike the ball, and Isaiah Glasker pounced on it to help the Cougars maintain a two-score lead going into the locker room.

— John Coon, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
Then, with Georgia a first down away from a game-winning field-goal attempt, Stockton fumbled the ball.

— Connor Riley, AJC.com, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of fumbled

Verb

But head coach Ben Johnson isn't going to be happy that his team nearly blew a 24-point lead with just over 12 minutes to go.

— Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026
On Saturday morning, temperatures in the fire area were in the mid-80s and winds blew at about 15 mph.

— Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of blew

Verb

Russia stumbled in all three of its Phobos attempts as well as many other Mars endeavors.

— ABC News, ABC News, 19 Oct. 2026
Munyon's Paw-Paw, an alcoholic beverage dating to the early 1900s, has been resurrected by two longtime spirits industry veterans who stumbled upon its unusual history during a family outing.

— Peter Burke, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of stumbled

Verb

My brother’s wife has ruined each and every get-together by having constant fights with her little boy about eating.

— Judith Martin, Sun Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
Tyrese Maxey scored 28 points, Jaylen Brown had 19, Joel Embiid had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and the Sixers ruined the Knicks' championship party.

— CBS News, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of ruined

Verb

Miami did a relatively fine job in Weeks 2 and 3 against some of the most talented backs in Christian McCaffrey of the 49ers and Kenneth Walker of the Chiefs but slipped up the two games prior to the bye against the Vikings and Bengals.

— David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
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

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

Up until tonight, Raman has done a good job of communicating a message of hope and change, while Bass, as the incumbent, has repeatedly tripped on her record over the biblically bad four years of her first term.

— Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
The truest sign that Joseph had tripped the Rams up with Hufanga’s blitz came by looking at Rams right guard Kevin Dotson.

— Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 2 Oct. 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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“Screwed up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/screwed%20up. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of screwed up

verb

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