messes (up)

verb

present tense third-person singular of mess (up)
1
as in fumbles
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 disrupts
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 stumbles
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 licks
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 messes (up)
  1. fumbles
  2. disrupts
  3. stumbles
  4. licks
  5. blows
  6. confuses
  7. trips
  8. pounds
Verb
  • As the newest guy in the ensemble (tied with Gladys’s baby), former Evan Hansen Taylor Trensch joins a main cast packed with Broadway legends, gets his bag, and immediately fumbles the family’s luggage.
    — The Editors, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2026
  • So the associate who fumbles a membership conversation doesn’t need a lecture.
    — Zaharia-Gabriel Sidere, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of fumbles
Verb
  • As Tehran continues to issue maximalist demands and the war disrupts shipping through the straits of Hormuz and Bab el Mandeb, Trump needs an out.
    — Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 13 Nov. 2026
  • The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) lists severe weather that disrupts a trip as one of the events that may qualify for trip cancellation, interruption or delay coverage.
    — Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 11 Nov. 2026
Definition of disrupts
Verb
  • The horse stumbles, trapping Galadriel underneath as the figure, a ring-wearing nazgnagôl, strides toward her.
    — Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026
  • This year, a gaunt, ravenous stranger stumbles out of the dark carrying something that eats its hosts from the inside out.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of stumbles
Verb
  • That glib self-confidence is present in McNamara, who licks the doughnut glaze off his fingers before offering his hand to the female detective questioning the one living Jason.
    — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Later, a woman protractedly licks blue ice cream from a cone, her attempts thwarted by ferocious gusts of wind and sand.
    — Matilda Hague, Variety, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of licks
Verb
  • The war in Iran, high gas prices, the stubbornly high cost of living, and blows to Trump’s popularity all contributed against the Republicans.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 4 Nov. 2026
  • As Paladin drives off, contract finally fulfilled, an estate guard with a rocket launcher blows his murder-van into flaming wreckage.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of blows
Verb
  • The legal system dehumanizes her, the support group confuses her, and one of her friends painfully disappoints her.
    — Carey Purcell, Vogue, 2 Oct. 2026
  • This confuses each Nyota but also those around them, who note that the Nyotas have rather quickly assumed new hairstyles but also that neither is behaving quite like herself.
    — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of confuses
Verb
  • Off property but on land, the hotel can help arrange zip-lining, an aerial tram ride, trips into town with stops at museums or for shopping and meals, and more.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Nov. 2026
  • This effectively reduces the Platinum status requirement to 130,000 TQPs and makes earning unlimited Companion Pass trips a bit easier.
    — Jason Stauffer, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of trips
Verb
  • Wyatt pounds Poly, but win or lose the Chaps would be the second seed and Brewer third due to Wyatt’s win over the Bears.
    — Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Higher prices come as Ukraine pounds Russian refineries, forcing Moscow to ban diesel exports.
    — Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of pounds
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

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

“Messes (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/messes%20%28up%29. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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