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
Kylian liked messing around, having a laugh and telling jokes — just like the rest of us.
—
Tom Williams,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
All of our memories are traveling the world, messing around, having fun, and being teenagers.
—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
22 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
Tom Williams,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
All of our memories are traveling the world, messing around, having fun, and being teenagers.
—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
22 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
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Win prizes playing interactive games, network with artists and entrepreneurs and enjoy signature drinks and bar snacks available for purchase.
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Men leaders can pay attention to and be mindful of who in the workplace may be playing more of an emotional support role that falls outside their job description.
Verb
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Like Friday, when a rookie lefty was flirting with a no-hitter in the middle innings, Bennett held New York hitless until Schuemann’s two-out homer in the fifth.
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Lake Superior Court Judge Samuel Cappas sentenced a Chicago man to 76 years Thursday for gunning down a friend who was flirting with his girlfriend online.
Verb
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Overall, the recommendations from PRT are to get on a bus at a stop closest to your home, rather than traveling closer to downtown for a stop, which will reduce traffic.
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Tec-Troit reconnects locals, and also repeat tourists, with the roots of the music, but its performers won’t earn as much as internationally traveling DJs headlining other bigger festivals.
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.
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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.
Verb
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And somewhere in the mix is a new technology facility that many are associating with a data center.
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Campbell argues that Latchford’s donations helped bolster his credibility as a scholar by associating his name with top institutions.
Verb
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President James Garfield’s assassin, Charles Guiteau, died by hanging about five months after he was convicted of murder.
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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.
Verb
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The term first popped up during the June 21 episode of Love Island USA, when Kenzie Annis and Corbin Mims were shown hooking up in bed.
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That suspicion intensifies when Mike and Eddie acknowledge their mutual desire with a kiss and start regularly hooking up.
Verb
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All told, it’s been a pretty spectacular and drama-free rollout for an idea that had been kicking around Hollywood for over 15 years.
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Husband and wife duo Cristina Marzolf and Matthew Marzolf, both 25, had been kicking around the concept of Press’d Cafe and Lounge, a family-friendly tropical escape that sells smoothies, juices and food for years.
Cite this Entry
“Messing around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/messing%20around. Accessed 4 Jul. 2026.
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