untidy

adjective

un·​ti·​dy ˌən-ˈtī-dē 

1

a

: not neat : slovenly

their untidy kitchen

b

: not neat or orderly in habits or procedure

an untidy mind

2

a

: not neatly organized or carried out

an untidy manuscript

b

: conducive to a lack of neatness

untidy tasks like bathing the baby

—New Yorker

untidily

ˌən-ˈtī-də-lē 

adverb

untidiness

ˌən-ˈtī-dē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• chaotic
• cluttered
• confused
• disarranged
• disarrayed
• disheveled
• dishevelled
• disordered
• disorderly
• higgledy-piggledy
• hugger-mugger
• jumbled
• littered
• messed
• messy
• muddled
• mussed
• mussy
• pell-mell
• rumpled
• sloppy
• topsy-turvy
• tousled
• tumbled
• unkempt
• upside-down

Examples of untidy in a Sentence

I can never find anything in this untidy office.

neighbors gossiped about the woman's rumpled and untidy children

Recent Examples on the Web

Palermo is as untidy as life and as temperamental as a Sicilian lover. —Stanley Stewart, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 July 2024

Life unfolds in its untidy way, and tests commitments. —Amy Dickinson, The Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2024

Bad parents of their own extended childhoods, struggling with the second, or third, act of untidy lives. —Nick Bowlin, Harper's Magazine, 24 Mar. 2024

In a growing number of schools, days are marked by strict routines and detentions for minor infractions, like forgetting a pencil case or having an untidy uniform. —Emma Bubola, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

untidy

adjective

un·​ti·​dy ˌən-ˈtīd-ē 

ˈən-

1

: not neat : careless

2

a

: not neatly organized or carried out

b

: marked by a lack of neatness

untidily

-ˈtīd-ᵊl-ē 

adverb

untidiness

-ˈtīd-ē-nəs 

noun