1
as in mistake
an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy
clearly, there's been some sort of screwup about what time we were supposed to meet
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in butcher
someone who bungles an effort
don't ask the office screwup to arrange the holiday party
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to fumble
to make a mistake
we all screw up from time to time, so don't sweat it
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to blow
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
you've totally screwed up the spreadsheet
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of screwup
Bynick Rockel, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2024
Similar screwups would occur again and again over the years, with each side perennially overinterpreting the other’s behavior while explaining away its own.
—Gideon Rose, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
Erik Kain, Forbes, 14 Dec. 2024
Jessica and Ashlee Simpson, ‘The Little Drummer Boy’ There really aren’t many ways to screw up a straightforward ballad that needs only a rolling snare drum as required instrumentation, but leave it to the Simpson sisters circa 2004 to burn it all down.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 10 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for screwup 
Noun
Then there’s Uber, whose data quality controls missed an accounting screwup that cost it $45 million in back pay for drivers.
—Bynick Rockel, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2024
Similar screwups would occur again and again over the years, with each side perennially overinterpreting the other’s behavior while explaining away its own.
—Gideon Rose, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
Verb
Of course, if CDPR screws up again gamers might not be so lenient.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 14 Dec. 2024
Jessica and Ashlee Simpson, ‘The Little Drummer Boy’ There really aren’t many ways to screw up a straightforward ballad that needs only a rolling snare drum as required instrumentation, but leave it to the Simpson sisters circa 2004 to burn it all down.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 10 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for screwup
Recent Examples of Synonyms for screwup
Noun
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Daniel Weiner, the director of government and elections at the Brennan Center for Justice, said the legal deadlines were set in part so that there would be time to make revisions before the Electoral Votes were cast in the event of a mistake or legal challenge.—
Daniel Desrochers,
Kansas City Star,
22 Jan. 2025
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Here are five wellness mistakes companies must unlearn to build a stronger workforce in 2025.—
Julian Hayes II,
Forbes,
22 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The newer facilities also include a butcher shop, where customers can shop for premium whole-hog cuts that conventional grocery stores might not carry, as well as hot food for takeout.—
Catherine Jessee,
Southern Living,
20 Jan. 2025
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With inflation hitting 300 percent in April, locals cut back at the grocery store and the butcher shop, The Washington Post noted.—
Tori Latham,
Robb Report,
2 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Now, contrast that to the recent experience of Ravens tight end Mark Andrews who, as every devoted local football fan will recall, both fumbled and dropped a crucial two-point conversion pass in a must-win playoff game against the Buffalo Bills.—
Baltimore Sun Editorial Board,
Orlando Sentinel,
25 Jan. 2025
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Like Fuhrman, many were nervous about teachers fumbling over technology and classmates not paying attention.—
Daniel Miller,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The Eagles defense also uncharacteristically blew several coverages in Week 16, including on two of Daniels’ five touchdown passes.—
Ted Nguyen,
The Athletic,
23 Jan. 2025
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Is this a lot of hocus pocus or a computational paradigm that might blow current capabilities out of the water and make NVDA look like, well, Intel of prior years?—
Vineer Bhansali,
Forbes,
23 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The blunders were addressed afterward by Rob McIntosh, the chief people officer of Stripe, in a memo to employees shared with CNN.—
John Towfighi,
CNN,
23 Jan. 2025
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But that was just one of the city’s many policy blunders of that era.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
21 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Matthias Schmidt, founder of Schmidt Automotive Research, said BYD’s plans for Germany have stumbled as EV sales slumped after government incentives were removed.—
Neil Winton,
Forbes,
23 Jan. 2025
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Both players refused to release the ball in an epic battle for possession, the players stumbling toward the TCU student section.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
23 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Sign up » Nonfiction In the past fifteen years, an avalanche of literature has been published about how technology has ruined our attention spans.—
The New Yorker,
The New Yorker,
22 Jan. 2025
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While that’s still below 1% of all luggage handled, try explaining that statistic to the family whose weekend away with the kids has been ruined by lost luggage.—
Duncan Madden,
Forbes,
22 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The German hit 12 unforced errors in the set as too many of his forehands skewed off his racket at the wrong angle and out of the court.—
Issy Ronald,
CNN,
26 Jan. 2025
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Keys broke three times in the first set, helped in part by Sabalenka’s four double-faults and 13 total unforced errors.—
Howard Fendrich,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near screwup
Cite this Entry
“Screwup.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/screwup. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
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