MESSED AROUND Synonyms: 120 Similar and Opposite Words

messed around

verb

past tense of mess around

as in played

to spend time in aimless activity spent the vacation day just messing around

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of messed around Then in spring training this year, Hollowell again messed around with different changeup grips while incorporating mental cues from previous coaches, and something clicked with a circle-change grip. — Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 25 July 2026 Dragstrem, who focuses more on production, has messed around with it but was left unsatisfied; McGill, who’s more lyrics-driven, wants nothing to do with the tech. — Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 30 May 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for messed around

Verb

Those emotions certainly were appropriate following Miami’s closer-than-expected 15-10 loss in Minnesota on Sunday, a game in which the defense played valiantly and Ollie Gordon reached the 100-yard mark.

— Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2026
The reporting on such matters is well-established, in the stories of Wall Street Journal journalist Jeff Horwitz (played here by Jeremy Allen White) and many others.

— Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of played

Verb

Frequently, the drug and location are irrelevant to the price — raising questions about the roles of insurers and higher prices associated with popular plans.

— Bob Herman, STAT, 5 Oct. 2026
The leader is associated with social mobility and poverty reduction in Brazil, which was fueled by a booming economy during his first two terms, from 2003 to 2010.

— Alessandra Freitas, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of associated

Verb

Chinese, Russian troops train together The PLA contingent traveled to Russia by road, rail and air and participated in the preparatory phase alongside forces from Russia, Belarus, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Tajikistan.

— Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 4 Oct. 2026
The family traveled around the country preaching and soliciting donations, and when Gortner was 16, his father absconded with what was reported to be $3 million in donations.

— Pat Saperstein, Variety, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of traveled

Verb

Since then, he’s kicked around with HAIM while turning one third of its Los Angelino triumvirate, Alana Haim, into a screen actress.

— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 2 Oct. 2026
Every single night, through that winter, spring and summer, Caldwell and Rothstein kicked around potential game situations and ideas for how to approach them.

— Luca Evans, Denver Post, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of kicked around

Verb

In several messages quoted in the ruling, Seaver allegedly threatened Nozell and other people connected to Parton’s estate.

— Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 6 Oct. 2026
There are two main anchors, the North and South Pavilions, connected by a track almost three kilometers in length, twisting and turning between dunes and rock formations.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of connected

Verb

In the rat, sensors worn on the front paws reported to a wearable hub, and the actuator was a stimulator hooked up to the sciatic nerve in the hind leg.

— Peter Hall, Scientific American, 29 Sep. 2026
Later in the trailer, Kardashian is shown lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to machines, while someone off camera asks whether that is what her father, Robert Kardashian, died of.

— Rebecca Cohen, NBC news, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of hooked up

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messed

messed around

messed over

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“Messed around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/messed%20around. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of messed around

verb

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