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

Replay review confirmed that Bachmeier had indeed fumbled, and separately confirmed that Moa had scored.

— Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2026
Earlier, Jones fumbled after backup tailback Evan Pryor failed to pick up Georgia linebacker Quintavius Johnson, who knocked the ball out of Jones’ hand.

— Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of fumbled

Verb

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens could not get off the field fast enough after his team blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter to lose to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

— Mark Harris OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2026
In reply, Snyder blew his own bugle, a simple tubular plastic whistle.

— Rich LaRocco, Outdoor Life, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of blew

Verb

Johnson had nothing but space, and stumbled to make one move before reaching the end zone for his first career touchdown.

— Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 2 Nov. 2026
An amateur historian has stumbled upon a provocative clue to the enduring mystery of what became of a notorious pirate who raided a royal Indian treasure ship centuries ago, implicating a co-conspirator whose name is familiar to many New Yorkers.

— ABC News, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of stumbled

Verb

Glancing down at my hands, the jungle-green polish from Lima was hopelessly chipped, ruined by river mud and rain.

— Liam Hess, Vogue, 5 Nov. 2026
Filming the kiss scene in public with dozens of bystanders armed with cell phone watching proved a challenge but, luckily, no one ruined the surprise.

— Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 4 Nov. 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

On this day in 1922, according to the popular account, a boy tripped on a stone and kicked off one of the greatest archaeological finds in history.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Nov. 2026
Schaefer stayed on the ice for the first half of the extra period before Nashville's Filip Forsberg tripped him, forcing the period's first stoppage.

— Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 28 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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Style

“Screwed up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/screwed%20up. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of screwed up

verb

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