messing over

verb

present participle of mess over, slang
as in abusing
to inflict physical or emotional harm upon her no-good boyfriend has been messing her over for years

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for messing over
  1. abusing
  2. bullying
  3. kicking around
Verb
  • Earlier this week, The Guardian and ITV News published their report about Walliams, with more than 30 people accusing him of abusing his celebrity and star power to prey on women and teenagers.
    — Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 13 Nov. 2026
  • In that episode, Parker accused Smith of verbally and physically abusing her, details later attested to by her eldest son, of a different father, during the police investigation into her disappearance.
    — Cristóbal Reyes, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Nov. 2026
Definition of abusing
Verb
  • His father believes the killing may be linked to ongoing bullying his son experienced at school.
    — Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 11 Nov. 2026
  • Javits’ father Thomas Frimprong told NYPD detectives two fellow students had recently been suspended for bullying his son.
    — Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 11 Nov. 2026
Definition of bullying
Verb
  • In other words, the idea of turning roads into giant wireless chargers has been kicking around for years, and some projects are now producing encouraging results rather than just concept illustrations.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask Laneige’s Lip Sleeping Mask has been kicking around Allure editors’ nightstands for years, and judging by its 2025 Readers’ Choice Award, plenty of you are just as hooked.
    — Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of kicking around
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 around
messing over
messing (up)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Messing over.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/messing%20over. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of lissome

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Nov. 13

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
speech-bubble-untangle
Simplify The Convoluted Expression Quiz A quiz that’s as “uncomplicated as a round de...
See All