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
Bahar Anooshahr, The Arizona Republic, 18 Jan. 2023
James, Sami, Jesse, Cassidy, and Karla (all from the super alliance of seven) sat out without much muss or fuss.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 10 Nov. 2022
Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 12 Sep. 2025
The 19-inch lanyard can be slipped on and off your neck without mussing your hair as well.
—Izzy Baskette, People.com, 12 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for muss
Noun
As promised, the restaurant is a no-fuss, no-muss operation.
—Bahar Anooshahr, The Arizona Republic, 18 Jan. 2023
James, Sami, Jesse, Cassidy, and Karla (all from the super alliance of seven) sat out without much muss or fuss.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 10 Nov. 2022
Verb
Last Week Tonight has always been more thorough in its account of the week’s major issues than the nightly network shows, though at least Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Kimmel all sounded the Klaxon about Donald Trump while their colleague Jimmy Fallon mussed his hair.
—Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 12 Sep. 2025
The 19-inch lanyard can be slipped on and off your neck without mussing your hair as well.
—Izzy Baskette, People.com, 12 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for muss
Recent Examples of Synonyms for muss
Noun
-
Becerra blunder The first ad that grabbed my attention was a quick-turn by San José Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Matt Mahan (still stuck in single-digit polling numbers), who jumped on Xavier Becerra’s first major mess-up.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 May 2026
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That way, the bristles can cling to your skincare products instead of dripping into the brush’s base and making a mess.—
Katie Decker-Jacoby,
StyleCaster,
14 May 2026
Verb
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What’s next for I-77 South Carter-Adamson and Ivory were disappointed to hear that I-77 will once again disrupt lives around Charlotte.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
11 May 2026
-
Canvas outage disrupted students during finals The timing made the outage especially frustrating.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
11 May 2026
Noun
-
Maybe someday, someone will make a musical about a movie based on a musical that goes to hell when all of the top-level producers and creatives go to war against each other.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
12 May 2026
-
The characters then cross the nine concentric circles of hell, beginning with Limbo and then various circles where the souls of those who commit different sins end up.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
11 May 2026
Verb
-
Instead of relying on a traditional metal antenna to capture a signal, the system uses lasers to monitor how incoming radio waves disturb the atoms.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
17 May 2026
-
Disrupting the possibility of cheerful solitude is both a stylistic and social shift, disturbing the film’s non-narrative serenity while depicting how dismantling the safety net displaces basic functions onto those least able to bear them.—
Vadim Rizov,
IndieWire,
16 May 2026
Noun
-
The inconsistent role wreaked havoc with his shot.—
Jon Krawczynski,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
-
Just ask Panthers guard Robert Hunt, who has stories about Eagles fans climbing onto opposing team buses and wreaking havoc.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
Women in America’s boardrooms made strides as corporations shuffled their mostly White and male lineups in the face of the historic pushback in 2020.—
Jessica Guynn,
USA Today,
14 May 2026
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Tall soldiers in bearskin caps shuffled a few inches to the left, or right, to give the parade its proper visual proportions.—
Sam Knight,
New Yorker,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
Arches and natural bridges sweep like buttresses from jumbles of rock, giving this landscape a mystical, cathedral-like quality.—
Madison Chapman,
Outside,
25 Mar. 2026
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Macaroons are chewy jumbles of coconut bound together with egg whites and sweetened condensed milk.—
Lynda Balslev,
Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Winners are chosen by a mix of votes from the two, translated into points by a system confusing even to Eurovision fans.—
Jill Lawless,
Chicago Tribune,
16 May 2026
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Cassidy complained Friday that the new primary system enacted last year was confusing voters by requiring them to ask for a partisan ballot instead of the previous all-party primary that had been in place.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Muss.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muss. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
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