Another word for gum up

To harm irreparably through inept handling; make a mess

• snafu

  1. A chaotic or confused situation.
  2. In a state of confusion or chaos.
  3. To make confused or chaotic.

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• screw up

  1. a serious mistake; blunder; mess
  2. a person who screws up

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• louse up

  1. (idiomatic, colloquial) To mess up; to confuse; to put into a state of disorder.

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• goof up

  1. (slang) To make a mistake.
  2. (slang) To introduce problems to or damage through incompetence.
  3. (slang) A mistake or problem.

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• blow

  1. A sudden hard stroke or hit, as with the fist or an object.
  2. An unexpected shock or calamity.
  3. An unexpected attack; an assault.

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• muck up

  1. To ruin unintentionally.
  2. (intransitive) To clown around; to have fun, often at the expense of others.

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• bollix up

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• spoil

  1. To impair or destroy the value or quality of; ruin:
  2. To harm the character of (a child) by overindulgence or leniency.
  3. To plunder; despoil.

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• muff

  1. To perform or handle clumsily or ineptly; bungle.
  2. To fail to make (a catch).
  3. To perform a task clumsily or ineptly.

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• muddle

  1. To mix together, especially confusedly:
  2. To mix (a drink or the ingredients of a drink), especially with a muddler.
  3. To put into a state of confusion; confuse:

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• mismanage

  1. To manage badly or carelessly.

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• mishandle

  1. To deal with clumsily or inefficiently; mismanage:
  2. To treat roughly; maltreat:

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• mess up

  1. To make a mess of; to untidy, disorder, soil, or muss.
  2. To cause a problem with; to introduce an error or mistake in; to make muddled or confused; spoil; ruin.
  3. To botch, bungle; to perform poorly on.

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• fumble

  1. To touch or handle nervously or idly:
  2. To grope awkwardly to find or to accomplish something:
  3. To proceed awkwardly and uncertainly; blunder:

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• foul-up

  1. A condition of confusion caused by mistakes or poor judgment.
  2. A mechanical failure.

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• bungle

  1. To carry out badly or ruin through ineptitude; botch.
  2. To work or act ineptly or inefficiently.
  3. A clumsy or inept performance; a botch:

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• botch

  1. To perform poorly or ruin through clumsiness or ineptitude:
  2. To repair or mend clumsily or ineptly.
  3. A ruined or defective piece of work:

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• boggle

  1. To hesitate as if in fear or doubt.
  2. To shy away or be overcome with fright or astonishment:
  3. To act ineptly or inefficiently; bungle.

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• blunder

  1. A mistake typically caused by ignorance or carelessness.
  2. To make a mistake.
  3. To move clumsily or haltingly.

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• ball up

  1. To crush into a ball shape.
  2. (intransitive) to coil up into a ball.
  3. (intransitive) To hunch over and pull in one's arms and legs.

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