1
as in fiddling (around)
to spend time in aimless activity
spent the vacation day just messing around
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
All of our memories are traveling the world, messing around, having fun, and being teenagers.
—
Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 22 May 2026
Winners Week 1 in primetime The schedule makers weren’t messing around with the opening week of games under the lights.
—Jeff Howe, New York Times, 15 May 2026
The Lakers weren’t messing around during the film sessions or practices.
—Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2026
Following the global success of The Housemaid, Lionsgate is not messing around with its upcoming sequel.
—Justin Kroll, Deadline, 23 Mar. 2026
So, get ready to travel to Sweden for a taste of adolescence full of smiles, tears, dancing, messing around – and skateboards.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 12 Mar. 2026
Morgan had been messing around with a curveball, but didn’t actually throw it until a workout at Petco Park a week before the draft.
—Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Feb. 2026
Advertisement Soon afterward, however, at a Red Bull event in Austria, Goepper began messing around on a quarterpipe.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 18 Feb. 2026
Most people are messing around charging far too little for clients who don't appreciate them.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 25 Jan. 2026
Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 22 May 2026
Winners Week 1 in primetime The schedule makers weren’t messing around with the opening week of games under the lights.
—Jeff Howe, New York Times, 15 May 2026
The Lakers weren’t messing around during the film sessions or practices.
—Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2026
Following the global success of The Housemaid, Lionsgate is not messing around with its upcoming sequel.
—Justin Kroll, Deadline, 23 Mar. 2026
So, get ready to travel to Sweden for a taste of adolescence full of smiles, tears, dancing, messing around – and skateboards.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 12 Mar. 2026
Morgan had been messing around with a curveball, but didn’t actually throw it until a workout at Petco Park a week before the draft.
—Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Feb. 2026
Advertisement Soon afterward, however, at a Red Bull event in Austria, Goepper began messing around on a quarterpipe.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 18 Feb. 2026
Most people are messing around charging far too little for clients who don't appreciate them.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 25 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for messing around
Verb
-
Pawol was flirting with potential history early in Friday's game.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 June 2026
-
While global average sea surface temperature is flirting with record highs, sea surface temperatures are near normal in the main region of the Atlantic where hurricanes develop, according to the Climate Reanalyzer at the University of Maine's Climate Change Institute.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA Today,
1 June 2026
Verb
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Best Women’s Clothing Deals My favorite part of traveling, besides the destination itself, is curating the ultimate travel wardrobe that perfectly matches the vibe of the trip.—
Julia Morlino,
Travel + Leisure,
29 May 2026
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That’s where parachutes made of nylon and Kevlar are stitched together for everything from space capsules coming back to land on Earth or one day traveling to the surface of Mars or dropping military personnel on beachheads around the world.—
Pat Maio,
Oc Register,
29 May 2026
Verb
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New York leads, 12-7, after a pair of early 3-pointers and by playing fast to try to get ahead of the defense of Victor Wembanyama.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
4 June 2026
-
Hanging on his wall as inspiration was a rhapsodic review of My Left Foot, which earned Daniel Day-Lewis his first Oscar for playing a guy with cerebral palsy.—
Lacey Rose,
HollywoodReporter,
3 June 2026
Verb
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Zeus did not approve of his daughter fooling around with this mortal roughneck hunter and put out a hit on Orion.—
Mike Lynch,
Twin Cities,
8 Mar. 2026
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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
Verb
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Hoffman has apologized for associating with Epstein.—
Jordan Novet,
CNBC,
5 June 2026
-
According to recent polling by the firm Meganálisis, Rodríguez continues to face deeply negative approval ratings, with many Venezuelans still associating the interim government with corruption, repression and economic collapse linked to the final years of Chavismo.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
29 May 2026
Verb
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Waddingham is less enthused about the idea of Ted (played by Sudeikis) and Rebecca hooking up, despite some of the fan base fantasizing about the prospect.—
K.J. Yossman,
Variety,
30 May 2026
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This isn’t just like hooking up an image of my dad to ChatGPT.—
Emily Zemler,
Rolling Stone,
26 May 2026
Verb
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At the same time, domestic refiners are running their plants harder than usual to meet fuel demand and competing for barrels, sending the premiums for US crude delivered in Asia higher relative to available Middle Eastern supplies, according to traders.—
Devika Krishna Kumar,
Fortune,
6 June 2026
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Loose silhouettes are key when running around town; relaxed athletic shorts and an equally slouchy button-up work perfectly.—
Kelsey Stewart,
Glamour,
6 June 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 9 Jun. 2026.
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