mess (up)

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mess (up)
Verb
  • Later in the first period, Theodore fumbled the puck into the skates of his teammate, Hertl, on their way out of the defensive zone, and Foligno added to Minnesota’s lead.
    Michael Russo, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2025
  • Every moment spent fumbling with gear in those temperatures came at a cost—to fingers, batteries, and hard drives alike.
    Tony Bradley, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • When someone has it, their immune system goes into overdrive, producing more antibodies (or immunoglobulins, hence the name) than necessary that disrupt typical organ function.
    David Oliver, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2025
  • The administration’s moves will also halt a first-of-its-kind study of the causes of thousands of firefighters’ cancer cases and disrupt a program that provides health care to emergency personnel who responded to the World Trade Center terrorist attacks.
    Mark Olalde, ProPublica, 21 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • How did the world’s two largest economies stumble toward a trade war that neither truly seeks and which the rest of the world can’t afford?
    Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Foreign Affairs, 29 Apr. 2025
  • Eleni wasn't the only one who stumbled across the sale.
    Michelle Lee, People.com, 28 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Flames were licking the upper branches of tall trees.
    Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 17 Apr. 2025
  • While investors are licking their wounds from a plunging stock market, and businesses brace for economic fallout, major investment banks are reaping extraordinary profits, according to Wall Street Journal.
    Jack Kelly, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • However, the impending free agent had an 11.25 ERA, two losses and one blown save over 10 games entering Monday.
    Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 28 Apr. 2025
  • Vindman and his twin brother, Alex, both blew the whistle on Trump’s attempt to withhold military aid to Ukraine while pressuring the country’s leader to investigate the family of President Joe Biden.
    Andy Kroll, ProPublica, 28 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Declan Rice tripped him from behind to earn a yellow card.
    Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2025
  • For the listener, the journey is both thrilling and desultory, like hanging out sober while your friend trips on mushrooms.
    Carrie Brownstein, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Hippler said in the new order bringing more attention to it in opening statements and through expert testimony would add more time to the already lengthy trial and probably confuse the jury.
    Jean Casarez, CNN Money, 18 Apr. 2025
  • Snakeheads are often confused with a native species—the bowfin—but anglers can tell them apart by looking at the anal fin, which is much longer on a snakehead.
    Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Unfortunately, the cause of the odor is often hidden.
    Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 27 Apr. 2025
  • Liv is forced to break up with her human fiancé, Major (Robert Buckley) to avoid infecting him, and becomes estranged from her best friend and roommate Peyton (Aly Michalka), hiding her new zombie nature from both.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 27 Apr. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Mess (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mess%20%28up%29. Accessed 2 May. 2025.

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