messing (up)

verb

present participle of mess (up)
1
as in fumbling
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way messed up the drawing and had to start over

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in disrupting
to undo the proper order or arrangement of a nap had messed up her hair and she looked a sight

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in stumbling
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 licking
to strike repeatedly threatened that he would mess him up if he cheated at the game

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for messing (up)
  1. fumbling
  2. disrupting
  3. stumbling
  4. licking
  5. blowing
  6. confusing
  7. tripping
  8. pounding
Verb
  • The Packers’ offense left the field, but came back after it was ruled that Watson was down before fumbling.
    — Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Here was his senior running back, who scored a 44-yard touchdown in their state championship win months earlier, fumbling on the very first play of the Blue-White scrimmage.
    — Kevin Fishbain, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of fumbling
Verb
  • And an unprecedented immigration crackdown is disrupting the labor supply in agriculture, construction, hospitality and food processing, raising prices even further.
    — Ana Ceballos, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano erupted early Sunday, prompting flight cancellations at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and disrupting flights at other airports.
    — Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of disrupting
Verb
  • Unlike other festivals, where audiences can be more forgiving, stumbling out of the gate at Venice can prove impossible for a contender to recover from.
    — Nate Jones, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Analysis from Zeki Data shows that where OpenAI and Anthropic are making gains in the AI talent market, Google DeepMind (and to some extent Meta) are stumbling.
    — Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of stumbling
Verb
  • One act featured two young women sitting on the stage and licking orange Popsicles (yes, that was the whole act).
    — Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Owners should also watch for licking that is sudden, persistent or severe enough to cause hair loss or skin damage.
    — Lauren Paige Richeson, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of licking
Verb
  • The National Weather Service called for blowing dust early Friday evening and a 20% chance of rain on Sunday for nearby Gerlach, Nevada, a community of 58 people about 100 miles north of Reno.
    — Dennis Romero, NBC news, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Stanford won 37-27, but this was after blowing a 16-point lead.
    — David Troy OutKick, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of blowing
Verb
  • Dirty glass, confusing backing liners and difficulty repositioning the film were among the most common frustrations.
    — Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Then began the desperate, confusing search for their colleagues.
    — Ross Adkin, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of confusing
Verb
  • The nearly two-minute spot depicts a club-wielding bureaucrat chasing and tripping a child on a bike and another stealing a boy’s scooter.
    — Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The boy was outside by himself for a total of nine minutes and had fallen into the pool after tripping over an inflatable chair, the report added.
    — Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of tripping
Verb
  • Still, the stock is a table-pounding buy for analysts led by McShane.
    — Michael Bloom, CNBC, 5 Sep. 2026
  • On offense, that means pounding the rock with a stout run game and letting that set up the passing attack.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of pounding
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

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

“Messing (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/messing%20%28up%29. Accessed 11 Sep. 2026.

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Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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