MUCKING UP Synonyms: 61 Similar and Opposite Words

mucking up

verb

present participle of muck up

as in fumbling

to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way I swear, she mucks up everything she tries

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Recent Examples of mucking up But life has a way of mucking up even the best plans, sometimes all at once and sometimes bit by bit and usually a little of both. — Brian Grubb, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026 Amid the memory shortage that's mucking up component prices globally, at least Qualcomm has some promising news for folks hoping to pay less for a daily driver. — Florence Ion, PC Magazine, 7 May 2026 At least not Will Welch, GQ’s longstanding editor-in-chief and global editorial director, who was absolutely zen about the threat of an atmospheric river mucking up the mag’s Men of the Year celebration last night. — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 14 Nov. 2025 What's mucking up the process is a telepathic outlier named The Mule (Pilou Asbæk), whose ravenous appetite for galactic dominance has created anomalies in Seldon's branching prognostications of how this whole ordeal will unfold. — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 29 Aug. 2025 The hydrogen flow keeps vaporized tin from mucking up the system’s optics. — IEEE Spectrum, 12 June 2023

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mucking up

Verb

After not fumbling all year and not committing a turnover throughout the month of October, Young got strip-sacked in the second quarter and Tampa Bay returned it for a touchdown.

— Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 25 Oct. 2026
The Seahawks had one of the worst turnovers in the NFL this season, fumbling in their own end zone and handing the 49ers a touchdown with 13 seconds left in the first half.

— Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of fumbling

Verb

Officials had budgeted $100,000 for the program and wound up blowing through that in just a few hours.

— Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
While animal rights advocates have pushed for Congress to adopt legislation that would phase out the fur industry, buying out farmers over the course of a year to end the practice once and for all, winds in Congress are blowing the other direction.

— Nat Lash, ProPublica, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of blowing

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mucking (out)

mucking up

muck (out)

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“Mucking up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mucking%20up. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of mucking up

verb

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