1. The complete mismanagement or mishandling of a situation
   "a typical bureaucratic screwup";
   - screw-up [informal]

1. [informal] Badly mishandle or ruin something
   "the pianist screwed up the difficult passage in the second movement";
   - botch, bodge [Brit, informal], bumble, fumble, botch up [informal], muff [informal], blow [informal], flub [N. Amer, informal], spoil, muck up [informal], bungle, fluff [informal], bobble [N. Amer], mishandle, louse up [informal], foul up [informal], mess up, butcher, balls up [informal], cock up [Brit, informal], goof up [informal], make a hash of [informal]
    
2. Twist into a strained configuration
   "screw up one's face"
    
3. Screw or turn higher
   "He screwed up the volume on the radio"
    
4. [informal] Make more intense
   "Emotions were screwed up";
   - heat up, hot up [Brit, informal]

Derived forms: screw-ups, screws up, screwing up, screwed up, screwups

Type of: compound, deepen, fail, go wrong, grimace, heighten, intensify, make a face, miscarry, misdirection, mismanagement, pull a face [informal], screw