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 travelling
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of messing around
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
Josh Glicksman, Billboard, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for messing around
Verb
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Designers Maxwell Osbourne and Dao-Yi Chow have been flirting with a brand relaunch, and what better time than fashion week?—
Kristen Tauer,
Footwear News,
13 Sep. 2025
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Anaheim has a recent history of flirting with a gate tax.—
Michael Slaten,
Oc Register,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Rookie Anthony Belton, playing right tackle for an injured Zach Tom, had a holding penalty that negated a 39-yard touchdown to Jayden Reed.—
Rob Reischel,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
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But there is something to getting in a room and all playing music together, which is what that record was born from.—
Isabela Raygoza,
Billboard,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The formula gets bonus points for not feeling sticky, not traveling or feathering, and smoothing out lip lines for a plump, pouty effect.—
Sophia Panych,
Allure,
16 Sep. 2025
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Recently, when her daughter was traveling to London for work, Graves still got up to see her off.—
Daniella Gray,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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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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The Aussie star has been associating with The New Day since his regular tag team partner, Austin Theory, was sidelined with an injury.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Sep. 2025
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Commit to regularly offering valuable insights so people start recognizing your name and associating it with expertise.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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When the tiny home arrives, a semi-permanent setup is as easy as leveling the surface, hooking up utilities, and anchoring the home, if desired, which can be accomplished with the help of the builder’s team.—
Maggie Horton,
PEOPLE,
14 Sep. 2025
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The guest list includes Jere (Gavin Casalegno), who’s been self-medicating by hooking up with Steven’s coworkers and Taylor’s friends.—
Sara Netzley,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Hochul is running for a second term as New York’s governor.—
Lauren Green,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Sep. 2025
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Traditional shoe testing depends on athletes running multiple sessions across weeks to produce a usable dataset.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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None is more important than what’s been kicking around for at least six decades, a project to bolster California’s north-to-south shipments of water by bypassing the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
19 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Messing around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/messing%20around. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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