messy

adjective

ˈme-sē How to pronounce messy (audio)
Definition of messynext
as in chaotic
lacking in order, neatness, and often cleanliness having a messy room is virtually de rigueur for a college student

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 messy This destruction derby, which was recently observed by the James Webb Space Telescope, has a messy distribution of mass that only makes sense if dark matter and ordinary matter got torn asunder during the collision. — Quanta Magazine, 14 Oct. 2026 Other printers that have pumps with third-party resin access, such as the Elegoo Jupiter 2, feel overcomplicated and messy by comparison, with more to clean between changeovers. — Michael Lydick, PC Magazine, 14 Oct. 2026 Rubio’s idea of the West is both messier and simpler, populated by muscular explorers and conquerors, from Alexander the Great and the Frankish king Charlemagne to the conquistador Hernán Cortés and the frontiersmen of the American West. — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2026 The lawsuit marks another front in a fight stemming from the Golden Globes’ messy divorce from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the group of non-American journalists that founded the awards show in 1943. — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for messy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for messy
  1. chaotic
  2. sloppy
  3. cluttered
  4. confused
  5. littered
  6. jumbled
  7. filthy
Adjective
  • Week 7 of the 2026 college football season will go down as one of the most chaotic ever, with five Top 10 teams suffering losses, and the newest AP Top 25 Poll reflects the craziness that unfolded.
    — Mark Harris OutKick, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
  • While the weather painted a chaotic picture, stories from Malibu residents were of neighbors coming together as a community in a way only the specter of disaster could prompt.
    — Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of chaotic
Adjective
  • The YouTube stuff, by comparison, feels sloppy, in multiple senses of the word.
    — Josef Adalian, Vulture, 19 Oct. 2026
  • The company built a team largely made up of former journalists and social media experts who have an eye for recognizing generic, sloppy content.
    — Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of sloppy
Adjective
  • Humanoids navigate obstacles The new research framework lets humanoid robots navigate cluttered environments by adapting their whole-body movements to obstacles.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 13 Oct. 2026
  • But behind those obvious roles waits a cluttered lineup of smaller backup options, including Awaka, Jalen Smith, Noa Essengue, Leonard Miller and Patrick Williams.
    — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of cluttered
Adjective
  • Unfortunately, there seems to be a lot of confused thinking about this at campuses across the country.
    — Jens Ludwig, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The long road ahead After being charged with murder on Friday, Francis, dressed in a white Tyvek suit and appearing confused at court, said nothing as she was ordered held without bail for her daughter’s death.
    — Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of confused
Adjective
  • In the past, her songs were so littered with personal details that listening felt voyeuristic.
    — Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 31 Mar. 2026
  • The series does not touch on the tabloid attention that followed the Beckhams in 2004, when it was alleged that David had an affair with his personal assistant, Rebecca Loos, and the many further accusations of cheating that littered gossip columns after.
    — Scarlett Harris, Time, 9 Oct. 2025
Definition of littered
Adjective
  • Entering the season, two quarterbacks sit in the top tier, followed by a drop-off to the second and third tiers — both of which are crowded and jumbled.
    — Dane Brugler, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Imagine a termite carving a path like a jumbled ball of string through a tree trunk, instead of an axe cleaving a single vector.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of jumbled
Adjective
  • Some orphans, their faces filthy, walked the stands hawking candy.
    — Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Myriad violations, from food that should’ve been trashed weeks earlier to filthy equipment, befouled the state inspection of a West Miami-Dade supermarket this week.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of filthy

Browse Nearby Words

mess (with)
messy
met
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Cite this Entry

“Messy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/messy. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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