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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.

“You can’t have a career without having stumbles or screwing up — that’s just part of life,” he tells me.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 22, 2025

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

From Science Daily • Oct. 26, 2023

The awkwardness of screwing up in front of strangers, butchering their language and sweating while you raid the mind’s dusty corners for a verb conjugation, is not to be found here.

From Slate • Jul. 25, 2023

But brunch doesn't stop at screwing up the poor, Type A person's eating schedule; it is really only satisfied when it has hijacked the entire day.

From Salon • Mar. 22, 2023

“Get your screwing up done now, when the consequences aren’t so bad. Trust me. It gets harder to do it later.”

From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon