1
as in fumbling
to make a mistake
we all screw up from time to time, so don't sweat it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
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 screwing up
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
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
-
Yet, as any visitor stalled in traffic or fumbling for cash to top up a transit card discovers, the old Seoul persists beneath the new.—
Christopher Elliott,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
-
What to know about the Patriots-Texans game Despite three turnovers and Drake Maye fumbling four times, the Patriots held on to beat the Houston Texans, 28-16.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
18 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
They’ve been burned enough by blowing leads this season.—
Josh Yohe,
New York Times,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Wilkerson treated him like a traffic cone, blowing by and bullying him for baskets.—
Aaron Heisen,
Daily News,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
The main components have measurement indicators so there’s no chance of slipping up, and the parts can all nest inside the large container for easy storage when you’re done drinking your coffee.—
Mark Marino,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
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
Verb
-
The committee is already split between those worried about persistent inflation, who’d like to keep rates unchanged, and those who think that recent upticks in unemployment point to a stumbling economy that needs lower interest rates to bolster hiring.—
Christopher Rugaber,
Fortune,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Years of decline have reduced Tottenham — one of the wealthiest clubs on the planet — to a place where the collective mood of the fanbase is at least somewhat conditioned by Arsenal stumbling again.—
Dan Kilpatrick,
New York Times,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Cognitive Mercury and upbeat Jupiter are tripping over one another, potentially impacting your day-to-day routine or plans with your friends.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
30 Jan. 2026
-
There should never be too many things piled up in a home, especially next to points of exit and entry, which could be a tripping hazard.—
Asia London Palomba,
The Spruce,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Screwing up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/screwing%20up. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
