snafus

noun

plural of snafu
as in blunders
somewhat informal a problem that makes a situation difficult or confusing A major scheduling snafu led to two meetings starting at the same time.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of snafus Stories of childhood rules, clothing snafus and Granger as a grandmother got laughs from listeners. — Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Aug. 2026 Fortunately, these common snafus are avoidable with a little careful planning. — Caroline Lubinsky, Martha Stewart, 16 Aug. 2026 Coordination with the other missions will be necessary to minimize the chance of any deep-space snafus and will likely occur through a preexisting expert working group under the auspices of the United Nations. — Andrew Jones, Scientific American, 30 July 2026 Yet this technology has not eliminated the problem of cultural misunderstanding or marketing snafus. — Karen Stollznow, The Conversation, 23 July 2026 The program has also been criticized for some of its editorial decisions and logistical snafus. — Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026 This, of course, comes in handy for sourcing local intel and recommendations, but also for logistical snafus regarding luggage storage, early check-in, or tricky key hand-offs (all three of which Mariana responded to with gracious flexibility). — Hannah Towey, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 June 2026 Ticketing and pricing snafus invite skepticism. — Cam Inman, Mercury News, 8 June 2026 The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Airforwarders Association (AfA) both sent letters to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin describing the far-reaching consequences of such a cutback, including supply chain snafus, diminished cargo capacity and lost revenues. — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 3 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snafus
  1. blunders
  2. mistakes
  3. errors
Noun
  • Holding her tongue is not Kate’s forte in general, and the severity of Todd’s avalanche of blunders in their meeting with the British foreign secretary tests the outer limits of her ability.
    — Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Nevertheless, Muse’s early days were filled with security and privacy blunders.
    — Adam Clark Estes, Vox, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of blunders
Noun
  • Cases can be delayed with different tactics, including intimidation, corruption and procedural mistakes that can reduce charges or even lead to acquittals, said Carole Grace Mbarga, a Cameroonian rights activist.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Common kitchen layout mistakes can make your space dysfunctional and uninviting.
    — Kristin Hohenadel, The Spruce, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of mistakes
Noun
  • When people have little relief from stress in a chaotic environment, their brains have difficulty coping with the ongoing prediction errors, Friston, McEwen and neuroscientist Achim Peters argued in a 2017 article.
    — Maia Szalavitz, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Passengers will also be able to fix any name errors on their booking for free.
    — Will Barker, TheWeek, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of errors

Browse Nearby Words

snafu
snafus
snag
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Snafus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snafus. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All