screwed up

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Verb

screwed up

1. simple past and past participle of screw up

Adjective

screwed up (comparative more screwed up, superlative most screwed up)

1. (of a piece of paper) Having been screwed into a ball.
2. (idiomatic, vulgar) Morally reprehensible; clearly and grossly objectionable.

   Dude, that’s screwed up; you shouldn’t steal from kids.

3. (idiomatic, colloquial) Broken, damaged, inoperative or having only partial functioning, especially by inept handling.

   That's a really screwed up car.

4. (idiomatic, colloquial) Having psychological problems; being mentally distraught or damaged.

   She's been a really screwed up girl since her boyfriend left her.

Usage notes

• Often employed as a bowdlerization, or substitution, for fucked up.

Synonyms

• (damaged): jacked up, fucked up, messed up, wrecked; see also Thesaurus:deteriorated, Thesaurus:broken or Thesaurus:wounded
• (morally reprehensible): jacked up, messed up, fucked up, objectionable, reprehensible, twisted
• (in disarray): fucked up, messed up, off-kilter, unbuttoned

References

• “screwed up”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.