messed over

verb

past tense of mess over, slang
as in abused
to inflict physical or emotional harm upon her no-good boyfriend has been messing her over for years

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for messed over
  1. abused
  2. bullied
  3. tortured
Verb
  • Over on Reddit and other online forums, Pitt’s return to drinking has stirred controversy, especially from people who are in recovery themselves or who grew up with loved ones who abused alcohol.
    — Martha Ross, Mercury News, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Gordon-Levitt played Neil McCormick, who was abused by the same coach, and processes it by chasing older men as a teenage rent boy.
    — Joshua Encinias, IndieWire, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of abused
Verb
  • For over two years, a 16-year-old transgender girl says she was bullied, excluded and discriminated against by her teammates and coaches at the Capital Crew youth rowing program housed at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center.
    — Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Airing on March 18, 1975, the episode was focused on the Evans family’s young son Michael Evans (Ralph Carter), who was being bullied at school for his lunch money by classmate Eddie (Doug Grant).
    — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of bullied
Verb
  • He was brutally tortured before being assigned his painting duties.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Other commissions include a monument to honor Native voices, a sculpture of gospel singer and Civil Rights activist Mahalia Jackson, and a site to recognize the survivors who were tortured by the Chicago Police Department during the 1970s-1990s.
    — Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of tortured
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 around
messed over
messed (up)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Messed over.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/messed%20over. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of lackadaisical

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Is “GIF” Pronounced “Jiff” or “Giff”?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All