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
Izzy Baskette, People.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Barely mussing their hair, the Padres went 36-30 (.545) in the 66 games coming into this weekend.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 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
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
Barely mussing their hair, the Padres went 36-30 (.545) in the 66 games coming into this weekend.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for muss
Recent Examples of Synonyms for muss
Noun
-
Small improvements compound over the course of the day — picking up a mess here, choosing the healthier option there.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
8 Apr. 2026
-
The way the changing room was designed, Mitchell had to run through the galley-style showers to wash the mess off.—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The vaccination campaign for measles was disrupted during Bangladesh's recent political upheavals.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 Apr. 2026
-
For one project, Cohen tried to disrupt a protein associated with insulin resistance and diabetes.—
Dhruv Khullar,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In Catholic theology, purgatory is the in-between—not heaven, not hell, but a passage of purification before something better.—
Geoff Curtis,
Fortune,
6 Apr. 2026
-
But the president needs a strategy, and the strategy is not just bomb the living hell or bomb Iran to the Stone Ages.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In such environments, gravitational encounters can pair black holes together or disturb existing pairs, leading to the mixed spin orientations and more complex motion seen in the data.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Apr. 2026
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Werner said there is one charge, an accusation of participating in an encampment that disturbed university operations, which violates the faculty code of conduct.—
Teri Figueroa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The aim is for Abdul to cause havoc in the United States, the West Bank and Iran.—
Oline H. Cogdill,
Sun Sentinel,
7 Apr. 2026
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In the twentieth century, the same storms that made headlines in New York wreaked quieter havoc across the river.—
Eric Klinenberg,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Born from the embers of the eighties band Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, led by the singer and guitarist Amelia Fletcher, shuffled forward with her riffy, effervescent playing style, gradually growing more sophisticated across four LPs and an EP, without any loss of buoyancy.—
Hilton Als,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2026
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This is where the city stages its daily open-air show — street artists sketching portraits, fortune-tellers shuffling cards and musicians playing for appreciative crowds.—
Lauren Schuster,
Charlotte Observer,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
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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
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But Neptune also blurs lines, which is why its influence can feel mysterious or even confusing at times.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
10 Apr. 2026
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The threats have left operators confused and frozen, unwilling to attempt passage, due to safety fears and uncertainty about Iran's new fee system.—
NPR Staff,
NPR,
10 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Muss.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muss. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
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