1
as in played
to spend time in aimless activity
spent the vacation day just messing around
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in flirted
to show a sexual attraction for someone just for fun
a guy who goes to the health club mainly to mess around with the women
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in associated
to come or be together as friends
if you continue to mess around with such narrow-minded boobs, you'll begin to think and act like them
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of messed around
In the email, Dixon suggested that the fire department employee may have messed around with the department's equipment.
—
Adam Thompson, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
Adam Thompson, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for messed around
Verb
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Super Bowl 60 will be played between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks in Santa Clara, California.—
Samantha Neely,
Florida Times-Union,
8 Feb. 2026
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Porziņģis, who was acquired just before Thursday’s deadline from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield, has played in just 59 games over the last two seasons because of various health issues.—
Nick Friedell,
New York Times,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Initially, Pitaro flirted with stealing Romo from CBS.—
Andrew Marchand,
New York Times,
2 Feb. 2026
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The Colorado legislature has flirted with the idea of a public option.—
Meg Wingerter,
Denver Post,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The battery is reported to retain more than 90 percent of its driving range even at –40 degrees Celsius, avoiding the sharp winter degradation commonly associated with both LFP and nickel-manganese-cobalt batteries.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Feb. 2026
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Several studies found that the causation element was weak, including one funded by the Department of Health and Human Services that showed that achieving those life milestones, regardless of order, was what was associated with a lower level of impoverishment.—
Marissa Martinez,
NBC news,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Not too long ago, artificial intelligence was more or less a science project in which data scientists and developers fooled around with one-off small or test projects.—
Joe McKendrick,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Los Angeles County public health officials recently confirmed three measles cases involving people who had traveled internationally, including one who flew into Los Angeles International Airport and visited Disneyland Resort.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
10 Feb. 2026
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There were also belts, buckles, and straps that snuggly wrapped around the shaft and traveled up her leg.—
Karla Rodriguez,
Footwear News,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The Pima County Sheriff's Department said investigators so far have not identified any suspects, persons of interest, or vehicles connected to the case.—
Kiki Intarasuwan,
CBS News,
8 Feb. 2026
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One of the most exciting playoff games in recent memory — a quarterback duel between Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes — ended abruptly in a 42-36 Chiefs win when Mahomes connected with Travis Kelce on an eight-yard touchdown pass.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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It is not hooked up to the truck, not level, blocking a fire hydrant, and the stairs are set up in possibly the worst way to access the clinic.—
R29 Team,
Refinery29,
4 Feb. 2026
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Another big topic this season is whether Heather and Jason actually hooked up.—
Jason Pham,
StyleCaster,
2 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In yards and gardens, plant tags, synthetic twine, netting, and landscape fabric can also fragment into tiny pieces when mixed into soil or added to the compost pile.—
Dr. Avishesh Neupane,
Hartford Courant,
7 Feb. 2026
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This food is commercially available as a powder that is mixed with water.—
Peg Aloi,
The Spruce,
7 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Messed around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/messed%20around. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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