screws

verb

present tense third-person singular of screw
1
as in distorts
to twist (something) out of a natural or normal shape or condition screwed up his face at the taste of the medicine

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in squeezes
to rob by the use of trickery or threats managed to screw his siblings out of their share of the inheritance

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 screws Loose hardware Give any bolts, brackets, and screws a quick once-over to make sure nothing has worked itself loose. — Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 28 Aug. 2026 The pen cap then screws onto the lower tube to create an extended striker that's easy to grip and move. — New Atlas, 22 June 2026 Presented with an opportunity to finally confess his feelings to Nikki, our man screws the metaphorical pooch. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 14 June 2026 Though, to be fair, Coop screws this up more often than not. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 May 2026 Kinto’s travel tumbler ($34) is a handsome receptacle available in a number of colors, with a lid that screws on tight and enough insulation to keep a cup of coffee warm all day long. — Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2025 Or are those simply screws Vrabel’s staff will tighten with more time and practice? — Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 25 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for screws
  1. distorts
  2. squeezes
  3. deforms
  4. plucks
  5. tortures
  6. cheats
  7. contorts
  8. sticks
Verb
  • Because of its large field of view, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will help researchers better understand dark matter by capturing how the phenomenon's gravity bends light and distorts a galaxy's shape.
    — Matthew Glasser, ABC News, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Saliva collects at the mouthpiece and distorts the notes, making the blasts sound hoarse and off-pitch.
    — Lois K. Solomon, Sun Sentinel, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of distorts
Verb
  • The jobs market has been resilient even as stubbornly high inflation squeezes businesses and households.
    — Damian J. Troise, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Glen Arbor to Traverse City On the Leelanau Peninsula, M-22 squeezes onto a narrow isthmus between Lake Michigan and Lake Leelanau, landing in the resort community of Leland.
    — Mike Norton, Midwest Living, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of squeezes
Verb
  • When pressure deforms the glass, its birefringence changes, which measurably shifts that interference pattern.
    — Pawel Maniewski, New Atlas, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Working on his audio venture makes Jacob more narcissistic and less socially competent; the podcast deforms his understanding of what friends are for.
    — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 13 July 2026
Definition of deforms
Verb
  • Trump sometimes plucks memes from a sprawling ecosystem of online conservative supporters, and sometimes his government staff produces them as part of their official messaging.
    — Josh Boak, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • His torso and thighs grow eye-poppingly muscular beneath their skimpy fur-and-leather togs—a development that does not go unnoticed by a warrior named Red Hair, who plucks the young hunk from his post and tosses him into the prime time of the gladiator pit.
    — Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 15 June 2026
Definition of plucks
Verb
  • At first, all signs point to Bobby, including a mercenary who survived the attack on Halstead Manor that Eddie tortures to extract information.
    — Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2026
  • On his latest Hyperdub release, the Japanese producer born Takahide Higuchi sings more than on previous records but tortures his voice through a gauntlet of pitch-shifter effects.
    — Daniel Bromfield, Pitchfork, 27 July 2026
Definition of tortures
Verb
  • Any forward who cheats for defence, as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has for much of his career, will play an elevated role on a Babcock team.
    — Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 26 June 2026
  • Though Lesnar rarely cheats to win, Femi isn’t going to lose clean.
    — Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026
Definition of cheats
Verb
  • Monk’s music contorts into an ecstatic dance, one more befitting of a ritual trance state than a night at the Five Spot.
    — Levi Dayan, Pitchfork, 11 May 2026
  • Bridges contorts his body, and jacks up an errant layup, but the play isn’t done there.
    — Fred Katz, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026
Definition of contorts
Verb
  • The progress that really sticks occurs when many stakeholders—most notably, customers—are actively involved in a process of co-creation.
    — Garret Gray, Forbes.com, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Joy walks by to get into the walk-in fridge and sticks her tongue out at Gen’s back.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of sticks

Browse Nearby Words

screwlike
screws
screws around
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Cite this Entry

“Screws.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/screws. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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