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 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

Verb

Lake Brantley appeared to have picked up the first down on third down but the ball was fumbled backwards to put the Patriots in fourth and long.

— Buddy Collings, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 Aug. 2026
After Carter Jensen flew out to deep center field, Caglianone tagged from second base and kept running toward home as outfielder Andy Pages fumbled the baseball out of his glove.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of fumbled

Verb

For more than a decade after, human-AI teams ruled the sport until AI alone blew past those hybrids by 2017.

— Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
An American Airlines flight blew two tires upon landing at Chicago O'Hare International Airport on Monday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

— Benjamin Stein, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of blew

Verb

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
Tuesday’s second callback inspection, third inspection overall, got ruined by two dead roaches under a dry storage shelf and four live roaches in dry storage.

— David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 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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“Screwed up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/screwed%20up. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of screwed up

verb

Example Sentences

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