1
as in to distort
to twist (something) out of a natural or normal shape or condition screwed up his face at the taste of the medicine
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to squeeze
to rob by the use of trickery or threats managed to screw his siblings out of their share of the inheritance
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of screw The screw-in stake is 16 inches long with a sharp tip and an easy-grip rubber handle. —
Bestreviews, Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2026 Semi-screwed There’s a world in which Colby was the most screwed over by the rock draw — because Dee and Emily are friends who already played together, and both were aligned with Cirie — but that world is one in which he was not injured and likely limping out of the game anyway. —Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Apr. 2026 As if she’d been presented with a tidy, screw-like riddle from the Sphynx. —Literary Hub, 2 Apr. 2026 A lot of times, much of a Hollywood memoir is someone saying this person screwed me over, this bad thing happened, and so on. —Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2026 In another part of the factory, a worker used a wooden stick, like a tongue compressor at a doctor’s office, to scrape excess bits of explosive out of the grooves inside each shell, ensuring that the base would screw on smoothly. —Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2026 The result is that many contestants are frequent collaborators and have long histories with one another, adding extra juice to their attempts to screw each other over. —Claire McNear, Rolling Stone, 18 Mar. 2026 Another big upgrade in terms of the Neo’s repairability compared to previous MacBooks, according to reviewers, is its screw-in battery. —Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 15 Mar. 2026 Then there are the indirect ways stress can screw with your gut. —Erica Sloan, SELF, 13 Mar. 2026
Bestreviews, Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2026 Semi-screwed There’s a world in which Colby was the most screwed over by the rock draw — because Dee and Emily are friends who already played together, and both were aligned with Cirie — but that world is one in which he was not injured and likely limping out of the game anyway. —Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Apr. 2026 As if she’d been presented with a tidy, screw-like riddle from the Sphynx. —Literary Hub, 2 Apr. 2026 A lot of times, much of a Hollywood memoir is someone saying this person screwed me over, this bad thing happened, and so on. —Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2026 In another part of the factory, a worker used a wooden stick, like a tongue compressor at a doctor’s office, to scrape excess bits of explosive out of the grooves inside each shell, ensuring that the base would screw on smoothly. —Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2026 The result is that many contestants are frequent collaborators and have long histories with one another, adding extra juice to their attempts to screw each other over. —Claire McNear, Rolling Stone, 18 Mar. 2026 Another big upgrade in terms of the Neo’s repairability compared to previous MacBooks, according to reviewers, is its screw-in battery. —Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 15 Mar. 2026 Then there are the indirect ways stress can screw with your gut. —Erica Sloan, SELF, 13 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for screw
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Through immersive sound, travel, and intimate interviews, Baudelaire journeys from Benin to Haiti and across the Haitian diaspora to uncover the true story of Vodou — a story of resistance, faith, and cultural survival that’s often been distorted by fear and colonial mythmaking.— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 21 Apr. 2026
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This also distorts the definition of what success for these programs would look like.— Catherine Thorbecke, Boston Herald, 18 Apr. 2026
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Focusing on everyday shapewear, Yummie hugs instead of squeezes like traditional shapewear that can be extremely tight and constrictive.— ABC News, ABC News, 11 Apr. 2026
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All movies need a 45-day exclusive theatrical window, because small and mid-budget movies that hit streaming sooner are getting squeezed.— Brian Welk, IndieWire, 11 Apr. 2026
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Kinks are critical in determining where a material deforms, appearing in situations such as metals bending permanently or DNA strands separating.— Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 22 Mar. 2026
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Don’t forget the gasp-inducing images of dicks mangled by one Dr. Loria in New York City, who has proudly refused malpractice insurance but allegedly left a number of men deformed after pumping them up with chunky-looking filler.— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 17 Mar. 2026
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Notice something small, then compliment it This one is almost cheating.— Henna Pryor, CNBC, 20 Apr. 2026
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Naumann also did Loughlin’s hair for this March outing, which marked the mother and daughters’ first red-carpet appearance together since the 2019 college admissions cheating scandal.— Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 18 Apr. 2026
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Despite some obvious physical scarring and a seeming predilection for contorting her body in creepy ways, Katie seems pretty healthy, or so the Egyptian doctors tell her parents.— Gregory Nussen, Deadline, 16 Apr. 2026
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Subtlety never stood a chance, with Cardi leaning fully into the chaos all night — chopping the air with her arms, sticking out her tongue, whipping her head, contorting her body, dropping into splits and backbends without warning.— Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 13 Apr. 2026
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Then in 2013, she was plucked from the pros to take on an even dicier enterprise, a new Big East, a basketball-centric conference in a college landscape dominated by football schools and power conferences.— Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 21 Apr. 2026
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Although Turner might have been open for a second, quarterback Cade Klubnik threw the ball high and late, allowing Delane to abandon his zonee anad pluck the ball out of the air.— Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 21 Apr. 2026
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Her platinum blonde hair was chopped into a chin-grazing cut that was curled under at the ends to give a voluminous appearance.— Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 20 Apr. 2026
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Threes while curling off screens or taking handoffs from teammates are routine for the NBA’s leading three-point shooter.— Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2026
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One day after the fights, a toddler managed to crawl under a fence at Hersheypark's ZooAmerica and stick his hand into the wolf enclosure while his parents were reportedly distracted on their cell phones.— Alexandra Simon, CBS News, 22 Apr. 2026
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When a person breathes these particles, they can get stuck in the lungs and move into the bloodstream, causing irritation and inflammation.— Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 22 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Screw.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/thesaurus/screw. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
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