buggered (up)

verb

past tense of bugger (up)
as in fumbled
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way I've somehow buggered up the program again

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for buggered (up)
  1. fumbled
  2. blew
  3. screwed up
  4. fouled up
  5. dubbed
  6. murdered
  7. ruined
Verb
  • The company, which offers credit cards used to make rent and mortgage payments, had fumbled a critical transition, leading to confusion and financial stress for its customers.
    — Andy Kroll, ProPublica, 31 Aug. 2026
  • On his second drive, Tagovailoa fumbled the snap from center and the Dolphins recovered.
    — Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of fumbled
Verb
  • It’s been a decade since the company best known for sucking up hair balls and dust bunnies blew with great force into the beauty business.
    — Jenny Bailly, Allure, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Playing the American League’s best team, the Padres had the final two games of the series in hand before the practically impermeable back end of their bullpen blew late leads.
    — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of blew
Verb
  • That doesn’t mean the Yankees screwed up in their process by trading for Stanton.
    — Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Every time a player screwed up, the coaching staff and his teammates received a text message, calling out both the infraction and the guilty party.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of screwed up
Verb
  • But their strategy was fouled up when the car’s occupants switched on the headlights, throwing a glare up the tote road along which the wardens had planned to sprint.
    — Dave Duffey, Outdoor Life, 26 Mar. 2026
  • Wild turkeys gobbled up Staten Island straphangers’ time on Monday, after a flock fouled up service on the Staten Island Railway.
    — Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 17 Mar. 2026
Definition of fouled up
Verb
  • The blaze, dubbed the Pickett fire, started near Calistoga last August and burned 6,800 acres over the course of 17 days, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
    — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Once a package or tool was compromised, Shai-Hulud, as the worm was dubbed, attached itself to future package updates.
    — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of dubbed
Verb
  • Curry is largely there for comic relief, swanning in with a bevy of beauties, challenging Bosley (Bill Murray) to a sumo match, and, sadly, getting murdered by the pool, thus depriving us of Curry’s magnetic presence for the rest of the film.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 26 Aug. 2026
  • London, who was married to hip hop legend Nipsey Hussle, would come together with Snoop again to honor Nipsey after he was murdered in 2019.
    — Justin Kroll, Deadline, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of murdered
Verb
  • Three winemakers earlier this month filed suit against the owner of Hundred Acre Wines, Jayson Woodbridge, and his company alleging that smoke from the wildfire ruined their harvests, the Press Democrat reported.
    — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Authorities in Napa County have charged a man for allegedly setting the 2025 Pickett Fire near Calistoga, which burned thousands of acres of Wine Country and ruined grape harvests because of the smoke.
    — Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of ruined
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

buggered off
buggered (up)
buggering off
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Buggered (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/buggered%20%28up%29. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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