screwy
/ˈskɹuː.i/adjective
screwy is spelled S-C-R-E-W-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,913th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, screwy means “Crazy; silly; ridiculous” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in screwy?
| Letters | 6: S-C-R-E-W-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 65,913th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is screwy?
Screwy appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,913th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce screwy?
- /ˈskɹuː.i/
Screwy has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-screwy.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of screwy
- screwier comparative
- more screwy comparative
- screwiest superlative
- most screwy superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does screwy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
informalCrazy; silly; ridiculous
That's a screwy idea; I am not going to fly all the way to Antarctica just to see a penguin!
- 2
archaicinformalTipsy; slightly drunk.
- 3
archaicExacting; extortionate; close.
- 4
archaicWorthless.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does screwy come from?
From screw + -y. 1820, original meaning “tipsy, slightly drunk”; meaning “crazy, ridiculous” first recorded 1887.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).