as in silly
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
she's always off on some screwball plan
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in eccentric
a person of odd or whimsical habits
a screwball who liked to save lint and bits of string
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of screwball
A.a. Dowd, Chron, 12 May 2023
Each event becomes screwball one-act with different chaos ensembles.
—Darren Franich, EW.com, 16 Feb. 2023
Dana Feldman, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025
Baker at first gives us a whirlwind, screwball romance; then, after spinning us around a few times, leads us to one of those great movie endings that’s both staggering and gentle.
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 31 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for screwball
Adjective
Here, Johnson applies a screwball procedural framework to a true story of tech-world boom and bust, building his movie on a clash of values and personalities.
—A.a. Dowd, Chron, 12 May 2023
Each event becomes screwball one-act with different chaos ensembles.
—Darren Franich, EW.com, 16 Feb. 2023
Noun
The Residence is a screwball whodunit set in the upstairs, downstairs, and backstairs of the White House, among the eclectic staff of the world's most famous mansion.
—Dana Feldman, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025
Baker at first gives us a whirlwind, screwball romance; then, after spinning us around a few times, leads us to one of those great movie endings that’s both staggering and gentle.
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 31 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for screwball
Recent Examples of Synonyms for screwball
Adjective
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This strategy worked for him for about 10 years—and then began to bore him silly.—
Art Spiegelman,
The Atlantic,
9 Apr. 2025
-
Props to the people who green-lit Angry Birds to give kids a silly movie about infanticide.—
Jordan Crucchiola,
Vulture,
4 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Robert Redford delivers folksy wisdom as a local eccentric who once had his own dragon encounter, and even Karl Urban’s greedy logger is more of a nuisance than an outright villain.—
Josh Bell,
Vulture,
21 Mar. 2025
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Attracting talent for greater innovation hazards acquiring a few eccentrics whose gifts come wrapped in controversial packaging.—
Chip Bell,
Forbes,
15 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Still, the sexist double standards around pockets have continued to be present in absurd ways.—
Jacqui Palumbo,
CNN Money,
9 Apr. 2025
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This whole exercise of proving the absence of antisemitism as a prerequisite to criticizing Israeli government policy is absurd.—
Raja Krishnamoorthi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
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But after Bonet departed the series following its first season, the focus shifted to characters played by Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Dawnn Lewis, Glynn Turman, Cory Tyler, Lou Myers, Darryl M. Bell, Cree Summer, and Charnele Brown.—
Joe Otterson,
Variety,
28 Mar. 2025
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From a personality standpoint, many have praised Dart for his competitive mindset and character, something that coach Mike Tomlin often values.—
Mike DeFabo,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Amelia soon decides that stupid boys (and humans in general) aren't worth keeping around.—
Nick Romano,
EW.com,
3 Apr. 2025
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And in practice, the experience is delightfully stupid.—
Luke Winkie,
Vulture,
1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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While tailback isn’t a need, only foolish franchises pass up adding generational talents such as Jeanty.—
Omar Kelly,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 Apr. 2025
-
Evening rush-hour commuters — who thought winter was over — felt foolish after the city was socked with a record-breaking spring snowfall.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Tauruses will go crazy for something chic, functional, and soft to the touch.—
Meghan Rose,
Glamour,
9 Feb. 2023
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Before getting into the chaos of episode 5, that episode 4 cliff hanger was crazy.—
Calie Schepp,
EW.com,
6 Feb. 2023
Adjective
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And the maddest thing of all is the AI Generator, who wants to marry her!—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
6 Apr. 2025
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The other tuna dodged their dead companions with a flick of the tail and continued their mad carousel.—
Julia Amberger, Nanni Fontana, Marzio Mian, & Nicola Scevola (Tr. Elettra Pauletto),
The Dial,
3 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Screwball.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/screwball. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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