screw·ball
ˈskrü-ˌbȯl 
plural screwballs
1
: a baseball pitch that spins and breaks in the opposite direction to a curve
The students learned that most pitches—such as fastballs, curveballs, sliders and screwballs—spin because pitchers wrap their fingers around the ball and, in releasing it, whip them across its surface.—
Scientific American
Scientific AmericanBack in '34, he had made five future Hall of Famers whiff, one by one, and he had done it just as Fernando had, with a screwball—a pitch that breaks in toward a batter, opposite of a curveball.—Tom Friend
Tom Friend2
informal
: a whimsical or eccentric person
The local TV stations virtually ignored him, and The Atlanta Journal and Constitution portrayed him as a screwball with a harebrained scheme.—William Oscar Johnson
William Oscar Johnson
informal
: extremely eccentric or whimsical : zany
a screwball comedy
his screwball charm
By some ditsy, screwball logic, the Cubs decided that Dean had shown enough of his old flair to warrant another season, and so they went ahead and asked him back.—Paul Auster
Paul AusterSynonyms
Noun
- character
- codger
- crack
- crackbrain
- crackpot
- crank
- eccentric
- flake
- fruitcake
- head case
- kook
- nut
- nutcase
- nutter [British slang]
- oddball
- oddity
- original
- quiz
- weirdo
- zany
Adjective
- absurd
- asinine
- balmy
- brainless
- bubbleheaded
- cockeyed
- crackpot
- crazy
- cuckoo
- daffy
- daft
- dippy
- dotty
- fatuous
- featherheaded
- fool
- foolish
- half-baked
- half-witted
- harebrained
- inept
- insane
- jerky
- kooky
- kookie
- loony
- looney
- lunatic
- lunkheaded
- mad
- nonsensical
- nutty
- preposterous
- sappy
- senseless
- silly
- simpleminded
- stupid
- tomfool
- unwise
- wacky
- whacky
- weak-minded
- witless
- zany
Examples of screwball in a Sentence
Noun
She really did that? What a screwball.
a screwball who liked to save lint and bits of string
Adjective
she's always off on some screwball plan
Recent Examples on the Web
Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 5 July 2024
Fernando Valenzuela roped us all in, leaving a legacy far greater than a manic screwball and a majestic mania.
—Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2024
Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Mar. 2024
Invariably in screwball plots like this, the precious cargo ends up in the wrong hands.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See all Example Sentences for screwball 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
Anxious to distance herself from that movie, which MGM reportedly recut against director Jim Goddard’s wishes, Madonna turned her attention to playing Nikki Finn, her savvy parolee in the screwball comedy Who’s That Girl.
—Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 5 July 2024
Fernando Valenzuela roped us all in, leaving a legacy far greater than a manic screwball and a majestic mania.
—Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2024
Adjective
His offstage demeanor was as analytical as his onstage character was screwball.
—Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Mar. 2024
Invariably in screwball plots like this, the precious cargo ends up in the wrong hands.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See all Example Sentences for screwball
Dictionary Entries Near screwball
Cite this Entry
“Screwball.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/screwball. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
screwball
1 of 2 noun
screw·ball
ˈskrü-ˌbȯl
1
: a baseball pitch that moves away from a straight path in a direction opposite to a curve
2
informal
: a foolish or odd person
screwball
2 of 2 adjectiveLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
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