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
See all Example Sentences for messy 
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
See all Example Sentences for messy
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.
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Cite this Entry
“Messy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/messy. Accessed 4 May. 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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