screwing 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

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.

See Examples For:

screwing up

“The idea was just to say, while doing all this, they’re sort of screwing up stuff for those guys, but ultimately it’s going to become iconic,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

“I guess we’ll call this screwing up the second half of my spin a dramatic finish,” Levito said.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 4, 2023

"We need to refocus our efforts on screwing up mitosis -- on making chromosomal segregation worse."

From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2023

My fear is, I'm just going to lose control and speak in tongues or say the wrong thing and get suspended for screwing up some massively important live special event like Kobe Bryant's helicopter crash.

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2023

He didn’t care, though; he was too busy screwing up his courage for what he was about to do.

From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling