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
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 messing around
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
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
-
Nevertheless, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, touted the decrease in fuel costs, with the national average flirting with the $3-per-gallon price point.—
Washington Examiner Staff,
The Washington Examiner,
31 Oct. 2025
-
In recent weeks, several women who claim to have had interactions with Lewis over the past decade have shared their experiences on TikTok, providing screenshots and phone recordings that appear to show Lewis sexting, flirting, and arranging meetups with female fans.—
Daniel Kreps,
Rolling Stone,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
His work as The Arizona Republic’s consumer travel reporter aims to help readers navigate the stresses of traveling and get the best value for their money on their vacations.—
Michael Salerno,
AZCentral.com,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Theories about this abound—all have their evidentiary shortcomings—but Greenblatt agrees with a common one that sees Marlowe traveling to France and uncovering Catholic conspiracies against the Crown.—
Isaac Butler,
The Atlantic,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Nobody will hold Gjoshe to his hopeful timescale of playing again within a month.—
Philip Buckingham,
New York Times,
8 Nov. 2025
-
What's the most difficult part of playing a character like Peter?—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
Younger Democrats are increasingly associating her with the past and see her as part of the problem that let Donald Trump back into the White House rather than a credible candidate for 2028.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
-
The overall structure of a chromosome can be divided first into large territories, then into more specialized compartments, and then into topologically associating domains, known as TADs.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
But the 27-year-old Alabama man didn’t see through on that promise and ended up staying in Fiji and hooking up with other lovelies.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
27 Oct. 2025
-
But Foster, who initially had the pair hooking up, only to scrap that plan during production, didn’t have clear answers for her or her co-star.—
Lacey Rose,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Prior to October 2023, Israel had occupied both Gaza and the West Bank since 1967—the longest-running military occupation in modern history.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
-
The country’s electoral commission said Hassan had won 98% of the votes in an election where several opposition politicians were barred from running, and many were arrested.—
Semafor Events,
semafor.com,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
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 8 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share