screwed

Questions

How do you pronounce screwed?

The recorded pronunciation is /skɹˈud/.

What does screwed mean?

Beset with unfortunate circumstances that seem difficult or impossible to overcome; in imminent danger.

Where does screwed come from?

From screw + -ed. * The modern sense of screwed originates in the mid-1600s with a sense of to screw as a means of "exerting pressure or coercion", probably in reference to instruments of torture (e.g. thumbscrews). It quickly gained a wider general sense of "in a bind; in unfortunate inescapable circumstances". When the verb screw gained a sexual connotation in the early 1700s, it joined the long-lasting association of sexual imagery as a metaphor for domination, leading to screwed gaining synonyms like fucked and shagged. On a more general note, this is a prime example of the frequent tendency for verb participles to evolve into participial adjectives. * The sense meaning "intoxicated" is from the early 1800s, and is associated with the term screwy, and the idiom to have a screw loose.

How to pronounce screwed

1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “screwed”.
2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/skɹˈud/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “screwed”.
4. Repeat and practice — Say “screwed” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.