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Dictionary.com

screwed up

VERB
make a mess of
Synonyms
STRONGEST
botch bungle confuse flub muddle spoil
WEAK
blow bobble bollix foul up goof goof up louse make hash of mess mess up mishandle mismanage muck up muff snafu
Antonyms
STRONGEST
clear up do well enlighten explain order organize succeed
screwed-up
ADJECTIVE
broken
Synonyms
STRONGEST
busted defective faulty ruined wrecked
STRONG
dead disabled down gone out shot spent wracked
WEAK
coming unstuck fallen apart feeble gone to pieces haywire imperfect in disrepair in need of repair in the shop inoperable inoperative kaput not functioning on the blink on the fritz out of commission out of kilter out of order out of whack run down unsatisfactory weak
Antonyms
STRONGEST
perfect repaired
WEAK
fixed working
ADJECTIVE
damaged
Synonyms
STRONGEST
flawed impaired injured run-down
STRONG
bent blemished busted dinged down flubbed gone hurt marred shot snafued spoiled sunk totaled
WEAK
beat-up fouled-up glitched imperfect in need of repair in poor condition in smithereens kaput loused up messed-up mucked up no-go on the blink on the fritz out of action out of kilter out of whack unsound
Antonyms
STRONGEST
healthy
WEAK
OK fixed mended perfect repaired unbroken undamaged working
ADJECTIVE
disorganized
Synonyms
STRONGEST
chaotic confused haphazard muddled
STRONG
disordered jumbled shuffled
WEAK
disorderly mixed up unsystematic
Antonyms
STRONGEST
methodical ordered organized systematic
WEAK
neat planned regulated systematized tidy
ADJECTIVE
puzzled
Synonyms
STRONGEST
baffled bewildered clueless doubtful mystified perplexed rattled
STRONG
bollixed discombobulated floored lost nonplussed shook stuck stumped thrown
WEAK
at a loss at sea come apart come unzipped dopey foggy fouled-up hung up in a fog loused up messed-up mind-blown mixed up mucked up shook-up spaced out unglued without a clue
Antonyms
STRONGEST
clear
WEAK
aware certain cognizant sure
ADJECTIVE
slipshod
Synonyms
WEAK
bedraggled botched disheveled faulty fly-by-night fouled-up haphazard imperfect inaccurate inexact junky loose messed-up messy neglected negligent raunchy scrubby scruffy shabby shoddy slapdash sloppy slovenly tacky tattered threadbare unkempt unmeticulous unsystematic unthorough untidy
Antonyms
WEAK
careful neat polished refined well-done

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“South American mango basically screwed up the mango,” says Savani.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026

If that happens and Congress later says, Wait, we screwed up, start it up again—it’s too late, because the spacecraft is no longer able to be contacted.

From Slate • Dec. 9, 2025

“That’s where they screwed up, they started subsidizing a lot of these guys clear back in the Dust Bowl,” Mike said of the biggest ranches.

From Salon • Dec. 4, 2025

In other words: “We screwed up, but we can screw up better.”

From MarketWatch • Oct. 27, 2025

He’d screwed up, but he wasn’t the kind of person Rashid thought he was.

From "Time Bomb" by Joelle Charbonneau