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

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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
  • Thomas and Woods fumbled in the first half in Spartan territory — their first of the season on 118 combined carries thus far.
    — Connor Dullinger, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026
  • During Sunday night’s game against the Seahawks at Lumen Field in Seattle, Mahomes fumbled after a big hit, and roughly 22 players had a chance to recover the ball.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of fumbled
Verb
  • The president said SpaceX CEO Elon Musk lifted restrictions on Ukraine’s access to Starshield, but Ukrainian soldiers said the service was still disrupted Friday.
    — Victoria Craw, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Common signs include low energy, disrupted sleep, mood changes and loss of motivation.
    — Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of disrupted
Verb
  • Russia stumbled in all three of its Phobos attempts as well as many other Mars endeavors.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Munyon's Paw-Paw, an alcoholic beverage dating to the early 1900s, has been resurrected by two longtime spirits industry veterans who stumbled upon its unusual history during a family outing.
    — Peter Burke, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of stumbled
Verb
  • Some wagged their tails as people approached, licked their hands and even liked to be petted.
    — Alida de Flamingh, The Conversation, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Tuxedo kitten Paolina bounced onto my chest and licked my fingers.
    — Solvej Schou, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of licked
Verb
  • The stocks are already down over 30% each in October as credit investors blew their yields out to distressed levels, doubting their business model of using aggressive levels of debt to build data centers.
    — Leonie Kidd, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2026
  • After losing consecutive non-road games by three points both times, on Saturday night UT blew a 24-3 halftime lead to turn it a fourth-quarter tie.
    — Mac Engel October 25, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of blew
Verb
  • Ureaplasma is frequently confused with or misdiagnosed as Interstitial Cystitis (IC), sending patients down a very different treatment path.
    — Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 19 Oct. 2026
  • The sticker price of an iPhone might be confused with that of a luxury watch.
    — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of confused
Verb
  • Up until tonight, Raman has done a good job of communicating a message of hope and change, while Bass, as the incumbent, has repeatedly tripped on her record over the biblically bad four years of her first term.
    — Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The truest sign that Joseph had tripped the Rams up with Hufanga’s blitz came by looking at Rams right guard Kevin Dotson.
    — Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of tripped
Verb
  • Hail the size of golf balls and damaging wind gusts pounded northern and central Arizona in a rare storm blowing through, bringing with it tornado risks and possible flash floods.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • But the boat overtook me, pounded at me as if asking me not to leave it.
    — Gerald R. Hunter, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 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 Oct. 2026.

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