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

The rookie tight end caught seven passes for 105 yards and a touchdown in his first career start Sunday, even as the Lions beat the Jets, 31-24, after Geno Smith fumbled with seconds remaining.

— Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 28 Sep. 2026
The Ravens' defense came up big in the third quarter, forcing a Cowboys turnover when Ferguson fumbled a shovel pass from Prescott.

— CBS News, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of fumbled

Verb

Colorado stumbled out of its Big 12 opener with a 23-13 loss to Baylor, dropping Coach Prime's Buffaloes to 2-2 and looking like (potentially) the worst team in the conference.

— Amber Harding OutKick, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2026
A couple of years later, Noah Kravitz of Oxford, unaware of Müyesser and Pokrovskiy’s solution, stumbled on Graham’s conjecture in an online archive of unsolved problems.

— Shalma Wegsman, Quanta Magazine, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of stumbled

Verb

As Vanderslice unwittingly contributed to the story with some quotes, not realizing the tone and direction of the article, his candidacy was derailed and his credibility ruined.

— Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026
Some suburbs battled soil erosion, which ruined rivers and contaminated drinking water.

— Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 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

Since then, price has completely round-tripped the move, giving back the entire post-earnings gap and settling back into the mid-$250s.

— Josh Brown,Sean Russo, CNBC, 21 Sep. 2026
Thomas Maulson alleged a deputy tripped him while handcuffed, causing injuries that required 13 stitches.

— Frank Vaisvilas, jsonline.com, 21 Sep. 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 4 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of screwed up

verb

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