1
as in fumbling
to make a mistake
we all screw up from time to time, so don't sweat it
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in blowing
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
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Recent Examples of screwing up
First of all, don’t hide misdeeds and screwups, which comes naturally by not committing misdeeds and not screwing up.
—
Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026
Right now, Iranians are blaming, appropriately, the regime for screwing up the country.
—CBS News, 11 Jan. 2026
Tim overcame his fear of screwing up again and asked Lucy to move in.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 6 Jan. 2026
After screwing up his job interview, Anders tries to see his sister, who’s been burned by him one too many times and sends her girlfriend to run interference.
—Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
As Nick in the present-adjacent day sure knows a hell of a lot about Dante Alighieri, perhaps the best person to criticize him and recognize his gaps in logic and knowledge, and how Nick is so profoundly screwing up his own life, would be Dante himself.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 3 Sep. 2025
Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026
Right now, Iranians are blaming, appropriately, the regime for screwing up the country.
—CBS News, 11 Jan. 2026
Tim overcame his fear of screwing up again and asked Lucy to move in.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 6 Jan. 2026
After screwing up his job interview, Anders tries to see his sister, who’s been burned by him one too many times and sends her girlfriend to run interference.
—Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
As Nick in the present-adjacent day sure knows a hell of a lot about Dante Alighieri, perhaps the best person to criticize him and recognize his gaps in logic and knowledge, and how Nick is so profoundly screwing up his own life, would be Dante himself.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 3 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for screwing up
Verb
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Nothing erodes confidence faster than fumbling for lockboxes, waiting on unresponsive listing agents, or showing a space that clearly doesn’t fit.—
Allen Buchanan,
Oc Register,
28 Mar. 2026
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Last season’s Detroit Tigers endured the worst divisional collapse in history, fumbling an AL Central lead that reached 15 1/2 games in July.—
Cody Stavenhagen,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The city did not adopt its own grocery tax to replace it, blowing a roughly $80 million hole in its budget.—
Jeremy Gorner,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Apr. 2026
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Miller’s third save in three tries followed Adrian Morejón blowing his second one-run lead of the season, this time with help from a defensive gaffe.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Other people’s opinions, or slipping up and saying the wrong thing?—
Jordan Robinson,
SELF,
19 Mar. 2026
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Smart’s Bulldogs could now do with the Crimson Tide slipping up to improve their conference prospects, with Texas A&M still out in front as the SEC’s only unbeaten team.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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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
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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
Verb
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Occasionally, King’s assistants, a pair of bulky guys with law-enforcement backgrounds, offered the stumbling line a corrective shove.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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The Ducks started their trip up five points on Connor McDavid and company, but held just a three-point edge after stumbling 4-2 on Saturday.—
Andrew Knoll,
Oc Register,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But there were too many moments early in the game in which the Illini looked out of control, badly missing shots, tripping on their drives.—
Colleen Kane,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Apr. 2026
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The unwanted genetic material vanishes without a trace, which is what kept tripping scientists up for decades.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Screwing up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/screwing%20up. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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