as in blunder
somewhat informal
a problem that makes a situation difficult or confusing
A major scheduling snafu led to two meetings starting at the same time.
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Recent Examples of snafu
Problems with the city’s rollout of the trash and Balboa Park parking programs didn’t help, and further built on City Hall’s history of operational snafus and policy blunders.
—
Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026
With the wide use of Waymo across the country, there have been snafus that some customers have brought up through the years.
—Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 12 Mar. 2026
Still, the rocket has faced its fair share of setbacks and snafus as the company moves to testing version 3 of the giant rocket.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 12 Mar. 2026
The employee testified that Ye forgave him for the snafu.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for snafu
Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026
With the wide use of Waymo across the country, there have been snafus that some customers have brought up through the years.
—Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 12 Mar. 2026
Still, the rocket has faced its fair share of setbacks and snafus as the company moves to testing version 3 of the giant rocket.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 12 Mar. 2026
The employee testified that Ye forgave him for the snafu.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for snafu
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snafu
Noun
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In a recent tactical blunder, the first lady’s farcical rollout of a teacher robot made unusually clear what this administration really thinks of children, teachers and schools.—
Randi Weingarten,
Fortune,
6 May 2026
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Although the mom of four appeared to spend the rest of her night faux pas-free, she's had to handle sartorial blunders before.—
Michelle Lee,
PEOPLE,
6 May 2026
Noun
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The Magic became stagnant and settled for poor shots while the Pistons took full advantage of Orlando’s mistakes.—
Jason Beede,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 May 2026
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In fact, many passengers unknowingly make small mistakes in premium cabins that can affect both their own comfort and the overall flight experience.—
Alesandra Dubin,
Travel + Leisure,
2 May 2026
Noun
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Mayer advanced to third on a subsequent error by Walls trying to flip the ball to second base, which scored Yoshida, and came home himself on Caleb Durbin’s RBI single, tying the game at 3-3.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
8 May 2026
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He was found dead by suicide in his jail cell that August — the result of what federal investigators concluded in 2023 was a cascade of misconduct, negligence and errors by staff at the Metropolitan Correctional Center.—
Tom Winter,
NBC news,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Snafu.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snafu. Accessed 9 May. 2026.
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