messier; messiest
1
: marked by confusion, disorder, or dirt : untidy
a messy room
3
: extremely unpleasant or trying
messy lawsuits
a messy divorce
Synonyms
Examples of messy in a Sentence
Painting a room can be messy work.
Some kinds of glue are messier than others.
a delicious but messy sandwich
Recent Examples on the Web
Marcus is either a lot more casual with his dates than most, or doesn’t order the drippy, messy 10x10 in front of prospective partners.
—
Benjy Egel, Sacramento Bee, 25 Apr. 2024
The barbecue site’s reopening resolves a messy saga that began last fall when the Mandela Parkway location mysteriously caught fire, just days after Horn had publicized that the building had been tagged by graffiti.
—Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2024
Taylor and Peter began a messy affair, which ended both of their marriages.
—Eric Andersson, Peoplemag, 23 Apr. 2024
Not just messy, but very dirty and unhealthy – with food waste and dirty dishes and pots on the counters.
—Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 20 Apr. 2024
It’s powered by batteries and electric actuators, no more messy hydraulics.
—IEEE Spectrum, 17 Apr. 2024
TikTok is known for authenticity, at least when compared with the picture-perfect posts on Instagram—it is supposed to be messier, more real.
—Caroline Mimbs Nyce, The Atlantic, 17 Apr. 2024
Some California cities have taken steps to remove the noisy, messy birds all together.
—Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 14 Apr. 2024
What was once a messy divide between Democrats and Republicans has become increasingly sorted out, with religious, ideological, class and social divisions all mapping neatly onto partisan lines.
—David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2024
Benjy Egel, Sacramento Bee, 25 Apr. 2024
The barbecue site’s reopening resolves a messy saga that began last fall when the Mandela Parkway location mysteriously caught fire, just days after Horn had publicized that the building had been tagged by graffiti.
—Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2024
Taylor and Peter began a messy affair, which ended both of their marriages.
—Eric Andersson, Peoplemag, 23 Apr. 2024
Not just messy, but very dirty and unhealthy – with food waste and dirty dishes and pots on the counters.
—Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 20 Apr. 2024
It’s powered by batteries and electric actuators, no more messy hydraulics.
—IEEE Spectrum, 17 Apr. 2024
TikTok is known for authenticity, at least when compared with the picture-perfect posts on Instagram—it is supposed to be messier, more real.
—Caroline Mimbs Nyce, The Atlantic, 17 Apr. 2024
Some California cities have taken steps to remove the noisy, messy birds all together.
—Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 14 Apr. 2024
What was once a messy divide between Democrats and Republicans has become increasingly sorted out, with religious, ideological, class and social divisions all mapping neatly onto partisan lines.
—David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'messy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to messy
Dictionary Entries Near messy
Cite this Entry
“Messy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/messy. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
messy
adjective
messier; messiest
1
: marked by confusion, disorder, or dirt : untidy
2
: extremely unpleasant or trying
messy lawsuits
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share