Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

Thesaurus

mess

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of mess

1 a state in which everything is out of order
  • The party had left the house in a total mess.
Synonyms of mess

chaos, confusion, disarrangement, disarray, dishevelment, disorder, disorderedness, disorderliness, disorganization, free-for-all, havoc, heck, hell, jumble, mare's nest, messiness, misorder, muddle, muss, shambles, tumble, welter
Words Related to mess

anarchy, lawlessness, misrule, riot

knot, snarl, tangle

labyrinth, maze, web

maelstrom, storm

bollix, clutter, litter, mishmash, shuffle

hodgepodge, medley, miscellany, morass, motley
Near Antonyms of mess

method, pattern, plan, system
Antonyms of mess

order, orderliness
2 food eaten or prepared for eating at one time
  • a mess of oatmeal
Synonyms of mess

chow, feed, meal, menu, repast, table
Words Related to mess

board

breakfast, buffet, collation, dinner, lunch, luncheon, refreshments, smorgasbord, snack, supper, tea

banquet, feast, regale, spread

bake, barbecue (also barbeque), clambake, cookout, fry, luau, picnic, potluck, roast
3 something unpleasant to look at
  • The car was a mess after the accident.
Synonyms of mess

eyesore, fright, horror, monstrosity, sight
Words Related to mess

eye-catcher

blot, smear, smudge, spot, stain
Near Antonyms of mess

vision
4 a considerable amount
  • an unexpected Super Bowl loss that unleashed a whole mess of finger-pointing and second-guessing
Synonyms of mess

abundance, barrel, basketful, boatload, bucket, bunch, bundle, bushel, carload, chunk, deal, dozen, fistful, gobs, good deal, heap, hundred, loads, lot, mass, mountain, much, multiplicity, myriad, oodles, pack, passel, peck, pile, plateful, plenitude, plentitude, plenty, pot, profusion, quantity, raft, reams, scads, sight, slew, spate, stack, store, ton, volume, wad, wealth, yard
Words Related to mess

epidemic, plague, rash

bonanza, embarrassment, excess, overabundance, overage, overkill, overmuch, oversupply, plethora, redundancy, superabundance, superfluity, surfeit, surplus

deluge, flood, overflow

army, bevy, cram, crowd, crush, drove, flock, herd, horde, host, legion, mob, multitude, press, score, sea, swarm, throng
Phrases Synonymous with mess

all kinds (of), quite a bit
Near Antonyms of mess

atom, crumb, dot, fleck, flyspeck, fragment, grain, granule, iota, jot, modicum, molecule, mote, nubbin, particle, ray, scintilla, scrap, shred, tittle, whit

smatter, smattering
Antonyms of mess

ace, bit, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, handful, hint, lick, little, mite, mouthful, nip, ounce, peanuts, pinch, pittance, scruple, shade, shadow, smidgen (also smidgeon), speck, spot, sprinkle, sprinkling, strain, streak, tad, touch, trace

mess

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of mess

to interest oneself in what is not one's concern
  • Please don't mess with me while I'm trying to concentrate.
Synonyms of mess

butt in, interfere, interlope, intermeddle, intrude, meddle, muck (about or around), nose, obtrude, poke, pry, snoop
Words Related to mess

intercede, interpose, intervene

barge (in), chisel (in), encroach, infringe, invade, trespass

fiddle, fool, monkey, play, tamper
Near Antonyms of mess

avoid, eschew, shun

disregard, ignore, neglect, overlook

Learn More about mess

  1. See words that rhyme with mess Dictionary: Definition of mess Spanish Central: Translation of mess Nglish: Translation of mess for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of mess for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up mess? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games