as in chaotic
lacking in order, neatness, and often cleanliness
having a messy room is virtually de rigueur for a college student
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Recent Examples of messy
Instead, Tottenham has a reputation for being a messy club with a scattergun approach to building its squad.
—
Graham Ruthven, Forbes.com, 14 June 2025
Somewhat ironically, the better the macro data start to look, the more risk of a messy rotation from the momentum leaders into the weaker names.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 14 June 2025
This means that messy countertops, cluttered tables, and busy shelves should be cleaned up to eliminate excess dust buildup.
—Timothy Dale, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 June 2025
On his third day, Jit developed a nasty stomach bug and suffered some unfortunate and messy diarrhea, soiling his fancy hiking slacks.
—Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for messy
Graham Ruthven, Forbes.com, 14 June 2025
Somewhat ironically, the better the macro data start to look, the more risk of a messy rotation from the momentum leaders into the weaker names.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 14 June 2025
This means that messy countertops, cluttered tables, and busy shelves should be cleaned up to eliminate excess dust buildup.
—Timothy Dale, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 June 2025
On his third day, Jit developed a nasty stomach bug and suffered some unfortunate and messy diarrhea, soiling his fancy hiking slacks.
—Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for messy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for messy
Adjective
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He was reinstated after a chaotic week that included a mass employee revolt and a brief stint at Microsoft.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
20 June 2025
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The chaotic scenes unfolded when agents deployed rubber bullets, tear gas and flash bangs to disperse the crowd who had swarmed the compound, according to video captured by Turning Point USA’s Frontlines.—
Michael Dorgan,
FOXNews.com,
19 June 2025
Adjective
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Crystal Skull is easily Spielberg’s laziest, sloppiest work — even the action sequences seem phoned-in — and it’s filled with unforgivable howlers: Shia LaBeouf’s limp attempt at being a bad boy, Cate Blanchett’s hammy villain, the goddamn fridge scene.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
20 June 2025
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The Cardinals took full advantage of the sloppy inning, scoring five runs on the way to clobbering the Sox 12-2 in front of 16,974 at Rate Field.—
LaMond Pope,
Chicago Tribune,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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Despite decades of existence, Jack in the Box’s sales remain stagnant, its strategy appears confused, and investors are becoming increasingly uneasy.—
Jim Osman,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2025
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Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, was left confused by the team’s strategy call — having gone long on the opening stint, but never seemed like a genuine threat to the leaders and lacking the outright pace of Lando Norris on the same strategy.—
Luke Smith,
New York Times,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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Troubled Factories: The medications came mostly from plants in India where inspectors found contaminated drugs, filthy labs and falsified records.—
Debbie Cenziper,
ProPublica,
17 June 2025
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The next year, his fame reached a new echelon after the release of Pumping Iron, a docudrama that highlighted Schwarzenegger's strange charisma and filthy sense of humor.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
12 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Messy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/messy. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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