English Dictionary

SCREWBALL

Pronunciation (US): Play  (GB): Play

IPA (US): 

 Dictionary entry overview: What does screwball mean? 

SCREWBALL (noun)
  The noun SCREWBALL has 2 senses:

1. a whimsically eccentric personplay

2. a pitch with reverse spin that curves toward the side of the plate from which it was thrownplay

  Familiarity information: SCREWBALL used as a noun is rare.


SCREWBALL (adjective)
  The adjective SCREWBALL has 1 sense:

1. foolish; totally unsoundplay

  Familiarity information: SCREWBALL used as an adjective is very rare.


 Dictionary entry details 


SCREWBALL (noun)


Sense 1

Meaning:

A whimsically eccentric person

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

crackpot; crank; fruitcake; nut; nut case; screwball

Hypernyms ("screwball" is a kind of...):

eccentric; eccentric person; flake; geek; oddball (a person with an unusual or odd personality)

Derivation:

screwball (foolish; totally unsound)


Sense 2

Meaning:

A pitch with reverse spin that curves toward the side of the plate from which it was thrown

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("screwball" is a kind of...):

delivery; pitch ((baseball) the act of throwing a baseball by a pitcher to a batter)


SCREWBALL (adjective)


Sense 1

Meaning:

Foolish; totally unsound

Synonyms:

crazy; half-baked; screwball; softheaded

Context example:

a screwball proposal without a prayer of working

Similar:

impractical (not practical; not workable or not given to practical matters)

Domain usage:

colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)

Derivation:

screwball (a whimsically eccentric person)


 Learn English with... Proverbs 
"Learn to walk before you run." (English proverb)

"One man's medicine is another man's poison." (Latin proverb)

"Advice sharpens a rusty opinion." (Arabic proverb)

"One swats the fly only if it annoys that person." (Cypriot proverb)



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