MESSING (UP) Synonyms: 243 Similar and Opposite Words

messing (up)

verb

present participle of mess (up)

as in fumbling

to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way messed up the drawing and had to start over

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in disrupting

to undo the proper order or arrangement of a nap had messed up her hair and she looked a sight

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in stumbling

to make a mistake if anyone messes up even once while we're recording, we have to start all over again

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in licking

to strike repeatedly threatened that he would mess him up if he cheated at the game

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for messing (up)

Verb

The Seahawks had one of the worst turnovers in the NFL this season, fumbling in their own end zone and handing the 49ers a touchdown with 13 seconds left in the first half.

— Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026
Specifically, Nico Iamaleava struggled, fumbling once and throwing interceptions to Oregon’s Koi Perich and Jerry Mixon.

— Elias Esquivel, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of fumbling

Verb

Habits are usually paired with physical or emotional cues, and disrupting those cues can disrupt the habit.

— Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Eight years ago, protesters frequently drove coverage in their preferred direction by disrupting candidates (Movimiento Cosecha pushed Biden to endorse a deportation moratorium, for instance) and showing up to press them at Q&As.

— David Weigel, semafor.com, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of disrupting

Verb

Big banks made changes to overdraft fees and fraud protections following previous testimony, for example, while former Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf abruptly resigned in 2016 after stumbling during hearings on the bank’s fake accounts scandal.

— Reuters, NBC news, 13 Oct. 2026
In an era of geotags and influencers, there’s something deeply satisfying about stumbling upon a place that still feels like a secret.

— Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of stumbling

Verb

Teams have to be licking their chops after seeing what Tampa Bay did to Dallas last Thursday night, especially considering the defense (or lack thereof) that the Cowboys have shown through five weeks.

— Jonathan Rubin, Charlotte Observer, 14 Oct. 2026
Carter is licking his wounds after the rest of the tribe sent Ana home in a blindside.

— Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of licking

Verb

This inspires Other Mommy to gruesomely kill Frank in front of Bela, including blowing his head up in an outrageous explosion of blood.

— William Earl, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026
Gray noise, per The New York Times, may sound like wind blowing or steady rainfall and works for apartment dwellers sensitive to sharp or fluctuating noises.

— Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of blowing

Verb

Bill Belichick has made a Hall of Fame career on confusing young quarterbacks.

— Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2026
The crowd even includes Sam, who has a fun moment catching up with Roy and confusing him with an observation that sounds like it was inspired by The Wizard of Oz.

— Keith Phipps, Vulture, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of confusing

Verb

In overtime, the Golden Knights quickly took advantage of a tripping penalty on Kings center Scott Laughton.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026
Behar, who dislocated the shoulder after catching her heel and tripping last week at The View‘s ABC studio building in New York, is expected to return to the show next week.

— Greg Evans, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of tripping

Verb

Strong winds, pounding seas and coastal flood threats will be near-constant companions for parts of North Carolina up through the Chesapeake Bay area this weekend as a nor’easter that’s expected to linger well into next week starts to take shape.

— Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026
You were expected, at the very least, to put up a good fight, and the dance could get real ugly real quick—I’ve witnessed aunties and uncles pounding their fists on the table in a yelling war and checks being ripped straight down the middle.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of pounding

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.

Browse Nearby Words

messing over

messing (up)

messing (with)

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Messing (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/messing%20%28up%29. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of messing (up)

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

jilt

Popular in Grammar & Usage

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'?

Popular in Wordplay

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

Popular

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

Games & Quizzes