as in mess
a state in which everything is out of order
careful planning had eliminated most of the muss that usually accompanies a move to a new house
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to disrupt
to undo the proper order or arrangement of
the wind mussed up my hair
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of muss
Lance Eliot, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2021
No other muss or complications.
—Sam MacHkovech, Ars Technica, 8 June 2020
Jacqueline Kilikita, refinery29.com, 20 Jan. 2025
Pearce, in a magnificent performance, plays him as a kind of citadel—towering yet human-scaled, his immaculate dress and coiffure barely mussed by the occasional burst of temper or spasm of ego.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 20 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for muss
Noun
No-fuss, no muss.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2021
No other muss or complications.
—Sam MacHkovech, Ars Technica, 8 June 2020
Verb
The bedhead texture and mussed up fringe give the medium length great shape.
—Jacqueline Kilikita, refinery29.com, 20 Jan. 2025
Pearce, in a magnificent performance, plays him as a kind of citadel—towering yet human-scaled, his immaculate dress and coiffure barely mussed by the occasional burst of temper or spasm of ego.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 20 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for muss
Recent Examples of Synonyms for muss
Noun
-
This daily upkeep keeps messes manageable and prevents them from accumulating to an overwhelming level.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
21 May 2025
-
Watching people getting clobbered with mops, or Stitch making messes and starting fires at the open-air beach resort where Nani works — the funny’s diminished in live-action.—
Michael Phillips,
Chicago Tribune,
21 May 2025
Verb
-
In a particularly affecting scene, Laura pleads with a social worker who disrupts the sinister plot she’s been crafting.—
Madison Bloom,
Pitchfork,
16 May 2025
-
Indeed, on Thursday in Basel, a small group of protesters blew whistles and waved flags to disrupt one of Raphael’s public rehearsals.—
Alex Marshall,
New York Times,
16 May 2025
Noun
-
If this is the slow kind of hell, I’m used to it— My hands are folded the wrong way, the cat sits on the bed Like a limpet, the sun drops out of the sky, inexorable As a chandelier earring.—
Jane Yeh,
The New York Review of Books,
8 May 2025
-
The first is Lorraine Bracco’s Roberta, his mother’s best friend, a passionate Sicilian now raising hell in a nursing home.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
8 May 2025
Verb
-
These days, there’s no shortage of packable, lightweight sleeping pads to make sure no peas (or pebbles) ever disturb your slumber on your next backpacking trip.—
Scott Gilbertson,
Wired News,
11 May 2025
-
The images of those disturbing losses cycled through social media and quickly made it onto local news.—
Grace Toohey,
Los Angeles Times,
9 May 2025
Noun
-
At 19, Harper’s poise and control are impressive, and even as a below-average outside shooter, his ability to create havoc in the paint and leverage his downhill gravity should translate to the pros immediately.—
The Athletic NBA Staff,
New York Times,
13 May 2025
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Minor presents a similar challenge with her speed and ability to create havoc.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
13 May 2025
Verb
-
Bemused tourists attempt to shuffle through the acrid red and blue flare smoke.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
18 May 2025
-
Deep in the bowels of State Farm Stadium, Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson and a group of his players shuffled into a concrete-walled space that had been converted into a makeshift press conference room.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
16 May 2025
Noun
-
Instead, voters themselves are jumbles of competing and sometimes contradictory interests.—
Chris Stirewalt,
The Hill,
14 Feb. 2025
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Baker also leads the orchestra, which sounds grand — although the sound in the arts center’s Pugh Theater often left musicians, lead singers and chorus all at the same level, with actors speaking over all of it at the same time to create a sonic jumble.—
Matthew J. Palm,
Orlando Sentinel,
27 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
All of the footage from The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon makes the show-within-a-show look silly, which the series confuses with humorousness.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
12 May 2025
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While no one should ever have confused the entertainment business with a warm binkie, the institutions themselves are in the new and awkward spot of having to justify their existence.—
Dana Harris-Bridson,
IndieWire,
12 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Muss.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muss. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
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