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
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
But Take Note This can be a messy activity, so be sure to let your little explorer dig out their dinosaurs outdoors or over a big trash bag for easy cleanup.
—Ashley Ziegler, Parents, 13 Apr. 2024
Four years later, the brand has made it through its meme era, the return-to-office, and a messy cofounder breakup and lawsuit.
—Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2024
Both were also messy from the birria juices in the tacos.
—Carlos Rico, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Apr. 2024
Her allure was given its first real showcase by Jackie Curtis, a brilliant, messy queen a few years younger than Candy, who’d grown up on the Lower East Side.
—Hilton Als, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
Listening to people’s confessions in the wee hours of the morning, Frank realized that people needed a way to talk about the messy topics often off limits in everyday conversation.
—Hazlitt, 3 Apr. 2024
Tamron Hall took a little break from her brand of inspiring, empowering daytime talk to get all kinds of messy.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 1 Apr. 2024
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
But Take Note This can be a messy activity, so be sure to let your little explorer dig out their dinosaurs outdoors or over a big trash bag for easy cleanup.
—Ashley Ziegler, Parents, 13 Apr. 2024
Four years later, the brand has made it through its meme era, the return-to-office, and a messy cofounder breakup and lawsuit.
—Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2024
Both were also messy from the birria juices in the tacos.
—Carlos Rico, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Apr. 2024
Her allure was given its first real showcase by Jackie Curtis, a brilliant, messy queen a few years younger than Candy, who’d grown up on the Lower East Side.
—Hilton Als, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
Listening to people’s confessions in the wee hours of the morning, Frank realized that people needed a way to talk about the messy topics often off limits in everyday conversation.
—Hazlitt, 3 Apr. 2024
Tamron Hall took a little break from her brand of inspiring, empowering daytime talk to get all kinds of messy.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 1 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 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
messy
adjective
messier; messiest
1
: marked by confusion, disorder, or dirt : untidy
2
: extremely unpleasant or trying
messy lawsuits
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