messier; messiest
1
a
: marked by confusion, disorder, or dirt : untidy
a messy room
b
: likely to create a mess
a messy task/hobby
messy paint
3
: extremely unpleasant or trying
messy lawsuits
a messy divorce
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
Now these two polar opposites are forced to work together in a partnership that blurs the line between right, wrong, and the messy bits in between.
—
Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 24 Feb. 2026
Accenture and Capgemini take more of an end-to-end systems integration role, getting into the weeds of data architecture, cloud infrastructure, and the messy business of connecting Frontier to the systems enterprises actually run on.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 23 Feb. 2026
Permission to grieve on our own terms, in our own time frames, is essential to the often messy, confusing, and harrowing process.
—Literary Hub, 23 Feb. 2026
Sources have told The Athletic’s Tom Bogert that Toronto FC will pay $22m to sign the USMNT forward, ending a messy stand-off.
—Phil Hay, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for messy
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Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 24 Feb. 2026
Accenture and Capgemini take more of an end-to-end systems integration role, getting into the weeds of data architecture, cloud infrastructure, and the messy business of connecting Frontier to the systems enterprises actually run on.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 23 Feb. 2026
Permission to grieve on our own terms, in our own time frames, is essential to the often messy, confusing, and harrowing process.
—Literary Hub, 23 Feb. 2026
Sources have told The Athletic’s Tom Bogert that Toronto FC will pay $22m to sign the USMNT forward, ending a messy stand-off.
—Phil Hay, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for messy
Cite this Entry
“Messy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/messy. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.
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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