1
as in havoc
a state in which everything is out of order
the bachelor party had left the house in a total mess
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in meal
food eaten or prepared for eating at one time
a mess of oatmeal
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
4
as in loads
a considerable amount
an unexpected Super Bowl loss that unleashed a whole mess of finger-pointing and second-guessing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to interfere
to interest oneself in what is not one's concern
please don't mess with me while I'm trying to concentrate
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of mess
Rafia Zakaria, Time, 6 Nov. 2025
However, aviation experts warn that the flight reductions will result in a travel mess.
—Ayesha Ali, ABC News, 6 Nov. 2025
George Ramsay, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2025
The last two seasons have proven that the team starts off slow, which ends up messing their chances of making the playoffs.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mess
Noun
Technically, Khan’s imprisonment is the consequence of an entangled mess of numerous legal cases.
—Rafia Zakaria, Time, 6 Nov. 2025
However, aviation experts warn that the flight reductions will result in a travel mess.
—Ayesha Ali, ABC News, 6 Nov. 2025
Verb
The internet already messed her up pretty good.
—George Ramsay, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2025
The last two seasons have proven that the team starts off slow, which ends up messing their chances of making the playoffs.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mess
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mess
Noun
-
At the center of all the glitzy havoc—her face often looming on a huge flat screen that rolls around the stage, following actors like a hulking LED stalker—is of course Chenoweth.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
10 Nov. 2025
-
After those rules are broken, the gremlin spawns more of its kind and end up wrecking havoc on Billy’s hometown during Christmas.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Federal subsidies for meals have become a flashpoint in the fight between Democrats and Republicans who have been unable to agree on a new bill to fund the government, leading to a federal government shutdown now in its 40th day.—
Molly Beck,
jsonline.com,
9 Nov. 2025
-
Want a meal that tastes like a million bucks?—
Mary Shannon Wells,
Southern Living,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
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With the government shutdown now the longest in history and with no clear end in sight, the administration had warned that SNAP benefits would not be paid out for November.—
Jack Birle,
The Washington Examiner,
8 Nov. 2025
-
National parks may have the name recognition, but some of our country’s most beautiful natural wonders and sights are tucked away in state parks.—
Lydia Mansel,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Nov. 2025
Noun
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But, at a moment when big narrative audio studios are shuttering, loads of people are being laid off and fewer documentary series are being made, this sentence really struck a nerve in the industry of folks who produce, write, edit and sound design longform narrative audio.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
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That could mean co-locating with renewables, using batteries to extend solar availability, or making data centers flexible enough to shift heavy compute loads to periods of abundant clean power.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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However, the trouble starts when governments interfere and tell funds to invest too much at home, which breaks the delicate balance that fund managers have calculated between risk and reward, said Sébastien Betermier, executive director at the International Centre for Pension Management (ICPM).—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
4 Nov. 2025
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And because the actuation frequencies (between 1 and 100 kilohertz) are far below those used for clinical imaging (between 1 and 20 megahertz), the two functions don’t interfere.—
Elie Dolgin,
IEEE Spectrum,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The Shea Moisture Define & Shine Edge Gel slicks my edges back without snatching them to hell.—
Kayla Greaves,
Essence,
6 Nov. 2025
-
That's hell for a kid to see that.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Options are from a select menu.—
Cheryl V. Jackson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
11 Nov. 2025
-
Belly up to the Turkish silver onyx bar, slide into a Yves Klein blue chair and pick from the five martinis on the menu, which range from the Grey Goose and Botanist Gin Skyfall to the Parmesan Espresso Martini.—
Melinda Sheckells,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Audiences just can’t get enough of films that offer frights and scares, or even family-friendly flicks that pay homage to spooky season.—
Keith Langston,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Horror anthologies are a tradition in British cinema, and this collection of bite-sized frights is the granddaddy of them all.—
Katie Rife,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Oct. 2025
Video
Hot Mess
Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings
Cite this Entry
“Mess.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mess. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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