as in messy
lacking in order, neatness, and often cleanliness
the quilt was a higgledy-piggledy patchwork of odd-shaped fabric scraps, each of which held a fond memory for the family
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in topsy-turvy
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of higgledy-piggledy
Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025
Elsbeth volunteers to stay at his schmancy, higgledy-piggledy Asian-fusion wellness center to continue the investigation.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 30 Jan. 2025
The oft wild, higgledy-piggledy marketing of so many strains, preparations and products has lead to an erosion of meaning for the customer base.
—Jahan Marcu, Rolling Stone, 29 Jan. 2025
Instead of obsessing over the latest higgledy-piggledy, do something useful.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2024
Go local in Tokyo Courtesy of Trunk Hotels Hidden in the higgledy-piggledy lanes of Tokyo’s Kagurazaka district (also known as ‘Little Kyoto’), Trunk(House) helps its guests experience the city in a way few other hotels can.
—Chris Schalkx, Vogue, 4 Oct. 2023
Adjective
Death to Order reads like an anti-thriller—this despite its international ambit and the corpses of prominent statesmen strewn higgledy-piggledy across its pages.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025
Elsbeth volunteers to stay at his schmancy, higgledy-piggledy Asian-fusion wellness center to continue the investigation.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 30 Jan. 2025
The oft wild, higgledy-piggledy marketing of so many strains, preparations and products has lead to an erosion of meaning for the customer base.
—Jahan Marcu, Rolling Stone, 29 Jan. 2025
Instead of obsessing over the latest higgledy-piggledy, do something useful.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2024
Go local in Tokyo Courtesy of Trunk Hotels Hidden in the higgledy-piggledy lanes of Tokyo’s Kagurazaka district (also known as ‘Little Kyoto’), Trunk(House) helps its guests experience the city in a way few other hotels can.
—Chris Schalkx, Vogue, 4 Oct. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for higgledy-piggledy
Adjective
-
Between the messy decline of solar cycle 25 and the possibility of a dramatic last gasp, aurora hunters may still have their best nights ahead.—
Daisy Dobrijevic,
Space.com,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Ceiling Fixtures Most people don't climb up a ladder to dust ceiling fixtures, so this is going to be a messy job.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
3 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
This map would turn topsy-turvy if MLB chose Austin or Mexico City as expansion cities — or chose no expansion cities out west, and two in the east.—
Stephen J. Nesbitt,
New York Times,
19 Aug. 2025
-
The Boston Celtics have certainly had a topsy-turvy offseason, as they have been forced to part ways with numerous key pieces from their 2024 championship team due to financial constraints.—
Matthew Schmidt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg dropped a bombshell on Democrats last week, one lost in the chaotic news cycle following Charlie Kirk’s assassination.—
Boston Herald Editorial Staff,
Twin Cities,
26 Sep. 2025
-
Surveillance video obtained by Fox News shows the chaotic moments when ICE agents took cover and protected detainees as gunfire rained down on them from outside a Dallas facility Wednesday morning.—
Peter D'Abrosca , Brooke Taylor,
FOXNews.com,
26 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
Or behaving unpredictably and expecting acceptance.—
Lauren Rothery,
Harpers Magazine,
19 Sep. 2025
-
The mobiles are Rower’s untamable creatures, swinging close to heads, shaking and shimmering unpredictably.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
And the free options just make life harder with jumbled formatting.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
20 Sep. 2025
-
But a patchwork of injunctions that have yet to reach the justices remain in place, creating a jumbled situation that keeps reductions at specific agencies on ice.—
Rebecca Beitsch,
The Hill,
9 July 2025
Adverb
-
Shamet was fitfully productive when played in meaningful spot minutes during the postseason for New York last year.—
Alex Kirschenbaum,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Sep. 2025
-
This book is a stylish pastiche, as an unnamed woman fitfully reconstructs herself under the thumb of a strange man.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Cigarette butts are the most littered item on the planet.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
16 Aug. 2025
Adverb
-
Gorman served as the Black Crowes' drummer intermittently from their founding in 1989 until 2015.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
24 Sep. 2025
-
In it, the scientists postulated an increased risk of death in people who fasted intermittently.—
Frederik Jötten,
Scientific American,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Higgledy-piggledy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/higgledy-piggledy. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
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