as in to fumble
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
I've somehow buggered up the program again
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bugger (up)
Verb
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Lucille Ball once lost her glasses on stage at the Emmys and had to fumble her way through.—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025 -
Seconds thereafter, the Clippers fumbled the ball away once again, setting up Gloucester with another short field.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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As health restrictions discouraged people from blowing directly into instruments, Gajewski and Brown reimagined the design.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Sep. 2025
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Soldiers have also been spotted in parks carrying out tasks typically assigned to gardeners and landscapers – shoveling mulch, blowing leaves and scooping up trash.—
Cybele Mayes-Osterman,
USA Today,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Also, if Utah or Miami were to score an upset in the opening round, St. Louis would have first dibs at taking that team instead of Orlando, which would foul up these predictions completely.—
Todd Boss,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
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Year-long court battles have been waged over exactly how clean the water in the Everglades has to be without fouling up the whole system.—
Alex Harris
July 3,
Miami Herald,
3 July 2025
Verb
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Best of all though is Reeves, channeling his own 1989 comic past from Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure or a bit of Todd Higgins from Parenthood to bring deadpan delight as the well-meaning but constantly screwing up angel trying to do good but being so bad at it.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
7 Sep. 2025
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Ego screws up most of the things in this life.—
Jason Mastrodonato,
Mercury News,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.—
Mark Price,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Sep. 2025
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Our family has been ruined by Denise's lies of promising to end a year-long affair.—
Stephanie Wenger,
PEOPLE,
9 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Bugger (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugger%20%28up%29. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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