as in absurd
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
she's always off on some screwball plan
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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Recent Examples of screwball
A.a. Dowd, Chron, 12 May 2023
Each event becomes screwball one-act with different chaos ensembles.
—Darren Franich, EW.com, 16 Feb. 2023
Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2025
License Jason Lee to turn loose his screwball side.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for screwball
Adjective
Here, Johnson applies a screwball procedural framework to a true story of tech-world boom and bust, building his movie on a clash of values and personalities.
—A.a. Dowd, Chron, 12 May 2023
Each event becomes screwball one-act with different chaos ensembles.
—Darren Franich, EW.com, 16 Feb. 2023
Noun
Mostly, though, you are arrested by the combativeness of the characters’ screwball banter, much of which is devoted to the explication of clashing political ideologies.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2025
License Jason Lee to turn loose his screwball side.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for screwball
Recent Examples of Synonyms for screwball
Adjective
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The French super powerhouse has taken teams part since winning the UEFA Champions League crown on May 24, outscoring its foes by an absurd 21-1 margin.—
Michael Lewis,
Forbes.com,
12 July 2025
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From the vantage point of 2025, this appears as absurd as suggesting that women’s soccer matches should be 70 minutes instead of 90, the same as in the men’s game.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
New York Times,
12 July 2025
Noun
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Ra’s decades-long adherence to this personal mythology, along with his air of serene bemusement and his extravagant robes and headdresses, led to his popular image as a colorful eccentric.—
Ekow Eshun
July 11,
Literary Hub,
11 July 2025
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Other characters include outcasts, visionaries and eccentrics — all of whom live on the margins as unseen — a former priest, a girl trapped in working her family’s candy stand, a woman who learned preaching from her brother and is a caretaker for her dying housemate.—
Mary Ann Grossmann,
Twin Cities,
18 May 2025
Adjective
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This perky, self-aware, sarcastic and downright silly show caters to both the more traditional Goodspeed audiences.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
14 July 2025
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Green Lantern is earnest and bright and, yeah, incredibly silly and a little embarrassing.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
11 July 2025
Noun
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Since the 1940s, professional wrestling has grown in popularity, thanks to its creative characters, stellar performances, and broad appeal to a mainstream audience.—
Mark LaSota,
Forbes.com,
27 July 2025
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Bowen reprises her character, Virginia Venit, in the comedy classic's second installment.—
Skyler Caruso,
People.com,
26 July 2025
Adjective
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And some stupid Republicans, and foolish Republicans, fall into the net.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 July 2025
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The film ends with Lady Susan setting herself up in a kind of throuple, although one member of the ménage is too stupid to be so informed.—
Tom Gliatto,
People.com,
19 July 2025
Noun
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And unlike the oddball carbon-fiber hatchback that was once known by that name, the next-generation electric i3 is set to be an out-and-out sedan.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
6 July 2025
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The Annihilation of Fish, directed by Charles Burnett and released in 1999 and now newly restored by Kino Lorber, features an oddball, interracial romance played by the late actors James Earl Jones as Obadiah Fish and Lynn Redgrave as Poinsettia Cummings.—
Armond White,
National Review,
25 June 2025
Adjective
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The Marlins would be foolish to trade away an ace with affordable team control at his lowest value ever.—
Zach Pressnell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 July 2025
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Schulman’s characters make enough foolish and self-indulgent choices to fill a volume twice the size of this slim one.—
Book Marks
July 11,
Literary Hub,
11 July 2025
Noun
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In 1929, the original came down to make way for the Empire State Building.—
Jacqui Gifford,
Travel + Leisure,
25 July 2025
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Paramount+ Premium is $12.99 per month and includes everything in the Essential plan plus Showtime originals, blockbuster movies and live TV with fewer ads.—
Fernando Cervantes Jr,
USA Today,
24 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Screwball.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/screwball. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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