SCREWBALL Synonyms: 177 Similar and Opposite Words

screwball 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of screwball

as in silly

showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment she's always off on some screwball plan

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

screwball

2 of 2

noun

ˈskrü-ˌbȯl

as in eccentric

a person of odd or whimsical habits a screwball who liked to save lint and bits of string

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 screwball

Adjective

On the New Jersey artist’s debut album, a steady stream of screwball ideas coalesce into unexpectedly existential laptop twee gems. — Nick Ayres Demasi, Pitchfork, 1 July 2026 The alternately suspenseful and silly scene nicely sets up the tone for this new season, which is infused with references to classic Westerns as much as screwball comedies. — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 1 June 2026

Noun

This is especially apparent in scenes with multiple characters speaking, recalling 1930s American screwball comedies with a dash of French realism. — Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 19 May 2026 The screwball comedy is one of the great gifts that 1930s Hollywood gave us, but that genre didn’t win too many awards. — Jordan Hoffman, Vanity Fair, 16 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for screwball

Recent Examples of Synonyms for screwball

Adjective

With so many of its procedural plots echoing and sometimes directly referencing real-world events, Cupertino is more substantive and less inherently silly than Elsbeth.

— Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026
Almost sounds silly now, with the way the team has stumbled and bumbled its way through the first four games.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of silly

Noun

The public reckonings with these figures’ legacies—the troubled former child star gone too soon, the beloved icon, the cult favorite, the complicated eccentric—have come in a cascade.

— Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026
Make sure to practice a full range of motion with these and emphasize the eccentric (the way down) part of the movement for maximal time under tension and muscle-building stimulus.

— Jakob Roze, HEALTH, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of eccentric

Adjective

Trump’s super intelligence rebrand can ultimately be read in a couple ways, though arguably neither are particularly nuanced or incisive — just further indicative of the daily deluge of stupid.

— Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2026
Once upon a time, the idea that the world was growing stupider was mostly confined to the realm of dyspeptic reactionary polemic.

— James Marriott, Washington Post, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of stupid

Noun

Given how Wade is defined by his love of hallucinogenic mushrooms and off-roading in an ATV, the character is designed to be played big, and Heaton appears to be enjoying himself.

— Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026
Brooklyn Nine-Nine alum Fumero’s character, Teri, is a detective inspector for the New Jersey State Police.

— Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of character

Adjective

Alongside Kardashian, Watts, Nash-Betts and Paulson, the series stars Teyana Taylor, Matthew Noszka and Glenn Close, who all one-up each other with deliriously absurd lines of dialogue.

— Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 6 Oct. 2026
The title comes from a phrase that became part of his creative vocabulary and began appearing in sketches whenever an absurd situation called for a perfectly incredulous response.

— Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of absurd

Noun

Germany’s leading indie fest has long made a specialty of outsiders and oddballs — artists who arrived without pedigree, training programs or an obvious industry slot and built the career anyway.

— Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 17 Sep. 2026
Link shifts from a charming oddball as Whatsit to a sinister figure on the planet of Camazotz.

— Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of oddball

Adjective

Soaking the suburbs over parking is reminiscent of other foolish, revenue-grabbing ideas, such as a congestion tax aimed at outsiders as a way to gin up money to cover Chicago’s ever-present budget black hole.

— The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2026
With Oracle having lost more than $20 billion in stock-market value today, this appears to be penny-wise and pound foolish.

— Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of foolish

Noun

Richard’s singing and rapping weave between the relentless drums like a shuttle through a loom, accented by cool sax notes and vocal loops from the original, which was co-written by Richard’s father.

— Stephen Kearse, Pitchfork, 9 Oct. 2026
With such a wealth of premium British content still available to leverage, BBC originals will remain at the heart of our offering.

— Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of original

Browse Nearby Words

screw around

screwball

screwballs

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Screwball.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/screwball. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of screwball

adjective

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on screwball

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Luddite

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes