1
as in fiddling (around)
to spend time in aimless activity
spent the vacation day just messing around
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in flirting
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
3
as in traveling
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of messing around
Most people are messing around charging far too little for clients who don't appreciate them.
—
Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 25 Jan. 2026
No messing around — just wham, bam, thank you, GLAM!
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 20 Jan. 2026
Miami’s defense isn’t messing around The Hurricanes defense has rattled Julian Sayin.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 31 Dec. 2025
Apple isn't messing around with this update.
—PC Magazine, 21 Oct. 2025
The dismantling of the Cubs in the NLDS was a statement series that the Brewers are not messing around and have the power to win their first World Series.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
Around March, during a session with Allen and Slatkin, Maddell started messing around with chords to pair with an acoustic that Slatkin had at the ready.
—Josh Glicksman, Billboard, 12 Aug. 2025
Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 25 Jan. 2026
No messing around — just wham, bam, thank you, GLAM!
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 20 Jan. 2026
Miami’s defense isn’t messing around The Hurricanes defense has rattled Julian Sayin.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 31 Dec. 2025
Apple isn't messing around with this update.
—PC Magazine, 21 Oct. 2025
The dismantling of the Cubs in the NLDS was a statement series that the Brewers are not messing around and have the power to win their first World Series.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
Around March, during a session with Allen and Slatkin, Maddell started messing around with chords to pair with an acoustic that Slatkin had at the ready.
—Josh Glicksman, Billboard, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for messing around
Verb
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The New York Giants running back is simultaneously building a streaming audience and flirting with a WWE career while putting up legitimate on-field stats.—
Ryan Brennan,
Miami Herald,
11 Feb. 2026
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Speaking of flirting, his romance with Natalie seems to be heating up.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The weather service said residents should use caution when traveling outside during the freeze warning as temperatures could drop low enough to cause frostbite or hypothermia with prolonged exposure.—
Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado,
Sacbee.com,
20 Feb. 2026
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Advancing your education, traveling more, or making friends outside of your typical circle could all be on the horizon.—
Maressa Brown,
InStyle,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun was also found guilty Thursday of playing a major role in the insurrection and sentenced to 30 years in prison.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
19 Feb. 2026
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On a frigid night recently, about a dozen people arrived at the Evanston Public Library to try playing a new game created by Steven Franconeri, a Northwestern University psychology professor.—
Jeff Banowetz,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The transition was rough for Ansari, who wasn’t fluent in English and often got in trouble for fooling around in school.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2026
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Gisin hopes that by fooling around with measurements of these more exotic states, physicists will come to better understand the role of measurement in general.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
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This rhetoric is employed to justify the state taking life, by associating the dead with national villainy.—
Ta-Nehisi Coates,
Vanity Fair,
26 Jan. 2026
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This result is likely because of stereotypes associating Asian American students with higher GPAs and Black students with lower GPAs.—
Kenji Yoshino,
Mercury News,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Two of Hollywood’s hottest stars, both in terms of fame and attractiveness, are frolicking in the English countryside, arguing in palatial mansions and hooking up passionately in the rain.—
Amanda Luberto,
AZCentral.com,
11 Feb. 2026
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Organized labor won his backing because hooking up with the Teamsters and learning to drive a truck got him out of the California tomato fields.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Dec. 2025
Verb
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That left only three crew members to keep the place running — one American and two Russians — prompting NASA to pause spacewalks and trim research.—
Marcia Dunn,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Feb. 2026
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After the nuptials, hundreds of dyads will renew their vows as part of Love in Times Square, a long-running tradition held by the Times Square Alliance, a neighborhood nonprofit.—
Andrea Sachs,
Washington Post,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In 2019, city employees began hanging about 500 trick-or-treat pumpkin buckets in the trees on Main Street every October.—
Elliott Harrell,
Travel + Leisure,
18 Oct. 2025
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Orion Nebula Those viewing from a dark sky location may also notice a blurry patch of light hanging about 5 degrees below Orion's belt.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Messing around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/messing%20around. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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