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

Thomas and Woods fumbled in the first half in Spartan territory — their first of the season on 118 combined carries thus far.

— Connor Dullinger, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026
During Sunday night’s game against the Seahawks at Lumen Field in Seattle, Mahomes fumbled after a big hit, and roughly 22 players had a chance to recover the ball.

— Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of fumbled

Verb

The stocks are already down over 30% each in October as credit investors blew their yields out to distressed levels, doubting their business model of using aggressive levels of debt to build data centers.

— Leonie Kidd, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2026
After losing consecutive non-road games by three points both times, on Saturday night UT blew a 24-3 halftime lead to turn it a fourth-quarter tie.

— Mac Engel October 25, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of blew

Verb

Williams stumbled backward and circled both arms backward as Avdija kicked the ball out to Lillard for a three-pointer.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026
An Egyptian farmer tending to his cucumbers stumbled upon an ancient stone that led archaeologists to a much bigger discovery.

— Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of stumbled

Verb

Food waste ruined amid the blaze took more than two months to clean up as the operation missed several deadlines set by the city, leading to unbearable odors in the area and rodent infestations.

— Austin Turner, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026
Others have used it to remove oily stains from their toddlers like crayon marks on carpet, and one reviewer says it’s saved many of their clothes from being ruined in a household with unavoidable messes from both kids and pets.

— Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of ruined

Verb

Miami did a relatively fine job in Weeks 2 and 3 against some of the most talented backs in Christian McCaffrey of the 49ers and Kenneth Walker of the Chiefs but slipped up the two games prior to the bye against the Vikings and Bengals.

— David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
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

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

Schaefer stayed on the ice for the first half of the extra period before Nashville's Filip Forsberg tripped him, forcing the period's first stoppage.

— Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 28 Oct. 2026
Doing so tripped Sixers All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey, and the nearest official immediately whistled for an offensive foul, Towns’ second inside the first four minutes of the season opener.

— Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 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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Style

“Screwed up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/screwed%20up. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of screwed up

verb

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