MESSES AROUND Synonyms: 116 Similar and Opposite Words

messes around

verb

present tense third-person singular of mess around

as in plays

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in flirts

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 travels

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 messes around Other standouts include a Maybelline mascara and a Black and Decker handheld vacuum, which makes quick work of small messes around the house and in the car. — Isabel Garcia, PEOPLE, 30 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for messes around

Verb

This time, Miles Teller plays the father, an out-of-work engineer who is convinced by his ex-cop brother (Adam Driver) to go into business with a group of Russian importers working out of Gowanus.

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026
Then, two plays later Baugh burst through the line and outran everybody for a 33-yard TD and 27-17 lead.

— Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of plays

Verb

Hal flirts with Kerry; John has an affair with Zoe (Poorna Jagannathan), the wife of William Macon (Garret Dillahunt), a local cattle mogul whose compound has more high tech weaponry than a mere human would seem to need.

— Alison Herman, Variety, 14 Aug. 2026
Rachel dates a shoe store operator named Lou (Bob Hoskins), while Charlotte nurses a crush on her handsome young school bus driver and flirts with Catholicism to the chagrin of her Jewish mother.

— David Faris, TheWeek, 17 July 2026

Definition of flirts

Verb

With Northern Trust serving clients from locations in Asia, Europe, Australia and North America, O’Grady travels the globe all the time.

— The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 20 Sep. 2026
Her cause of death was determined to be a pulmonary embolism caused by deep vein thrombosis (DVT), in which a blood clot travels to the lungs and blocks an artery, the BBC reported.

— Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of travels

Verb

Though the sisters are supposedly first-generation Italian American, no whiff of the old country hangs about Kay; Dorothy will at least spit out a few words in Italian.

— Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2026
Turquoise pearl, and azure line the space, and a cylindrical hanging light sculpture made of hundreds of white and gold ceramic fish hangs about the lounge seating area.

— Kristin Braswell, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Jan. 2026

Definition of hangs about

Verb

The Shiji associates Sun Tzu with Wu’s campaigns against its powerful rival Chu, including the campaign that culminated in the capture of the Chu capital, Ying, in 506 bce.

— Ethan Teekah, Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Sep. 2026
What being Southern meant to his father—and the values Duane associates with being a Southern gentleman.

— Sid Evans, Southern Living, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of associates

Verb

Cade Depriest hooks up with a Gunn again for 34 yards and Winter Park is on the move back inside the red zone.

— Buddy Collings, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Sep. 2026
Tony contains details directly pulled from Kitchen Confidential, including a memorable moment in which one of the cooks (Leo Woodall) hooks up with a bride who visits the restaurant immediately following her own wedding.

— Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of hooks up

Verb

Venus in your private 12th house connects awkwardly with Uranus in your partnership zone, creating tension between closeness and the desire to disappear for a while.

— Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 20 Sep. 2026
While that connects the Colombians to the South Florida group, there was no evidence presented during the first trial that Badio attended meetings in South Florida.

— Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of connects

Verb

The mop-haired actor plays Joey, a spunky boy onboard who bonds with Maddie over having absent parents in the military.

— Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 18 Aug. 2026
Nigel Starck, too, argues that obituaries provide a glue that bonds society not in grief but in an aspirational reevaluation of our own lives.

— Sam Roberts, Longreads, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of bonds

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messes

messes around

messes over

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“Messes around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/messes%20around. Accessed 24 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of messes around

verb

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