messed (up)

verb

past tense of mess (up)
1
as in fumbled
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way messed up the drawing and had to start over

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in disrupted
to undo the proper order or arrangement of a nap had messed up her hair and she looked a sight

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in stumbled
to make a mistake if anyone messes up even once while we're recording, we have to start all over again

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4
as in licked
to strike repeatedly threatened that he would mess him up if he cheated at the game

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for messed (up)
  1. fumbled
  2. disrupted
  3. stumbled
  4. licked
  5. blew
  6. confused
  7. tripped
  8. pounded
Verb
  • In the bathroom, my fingers fumbled in the inner pocket of my jacket, searching for the passport.
    — Ledio Cakaj, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Despite rebounding with the wildly entertaining F9 in 2021, the Fast franchise fumbled the 10th chapter, which underperformed at the box office and didn’t exactly get fans hyped for the follow-up.
    — Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of fumbled
Verb
  • Almost every country had reduced access to vaccines during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when supply chains and clinic access were severely disrupted.
    — Kathryn H. Jacobsen, The Conversation, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Some of those domestic brands have also disrupted the broader industry, reset innovation cycles and launched price wars.
    — Laya Neelakandan, CNBC, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of disrupted
Verb
  • Then Sánchez’s eyes drifted up, his feet stumbled to a stop, and the ball bounced feet away from him on the turf.
    — Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The 40-year-old woman stumbled, sustaining an injury, police said.
    — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of stumbled
Verb
  • Tuxedo kitten Paolina bounced onto my chest and licked my fingers.
    — Solvej Schou, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Her entire face got licked clean off her head when suburban floodwaters breached the cardboard hull protecting Kath’s basement memorabilia stack a few months before I was born.
    — Claire Carusillo, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of licked
Verb
  • Two exes alleged Watts blew past their boundaries to satisfy his own needs.
    — Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Shakur’s killing on the Las Vegas Strip in 1996 blew these tensions wide open, though the case remained unsolved for decades.
    — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of blew
Verb
  • Cirque Dreams, which also offers several other touring shows, used to be regularly confused with Cirque du Soleil strictly because of the similarity of their names.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Earlier, on direct examination, Heilbrun said it may be confused with psychosis.
    — Melina Khan, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of confused
Verb
  • The bear scratched his arm, and the victim tripped and injured his foot while trying to escape, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
    — Jon Haworth, ABC News, 19 Aug. 2026
  • His starting wide receivers both blew their knees out before week five and his starting quarterback tripped on his kid's skateboard and dislocated his elbow.
    — Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of tripped
Verb
  • Communities still recovering from last weekend’s hurricane in Hawaii could get pounded again in coming days from another tropical system gaining strength over warm Pacific waters.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Tommy pounded away behind the kit, which rose roughly 12 feet into the air.
    — Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of pounded
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.

Browse Nearby Words

messed over
messed (up)
messed (with)
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Cite this Entry

“Messed (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/messed%20%28up%29. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.

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Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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