as in messy
lacking in order, neatness, and often cleanliness
the frantic search left the room upside-down
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Recent Examples of upside-down
Shake things up with an upside-down Christmas tree–and yes, this is very much a thing.
—
Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 20 Oct. 2025
In the traditional view of the upside-down flying Pegasus, both the bright and faint curved lines of stars attached to Alpheratz make up the constellation Andromeda.
—Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 19 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, the show has hosted plenty of controversial musical performances, such as NBC removing upside-down American flags from Rage Against the Machine’s amps in 1996 to Ashlee Simpson’s botched vocal performance in 2004.
—William Earl, Variety, 19 Oct. 2025
This Irish American neighborhood is famous for its quirky upside-down traffic light, where green proudly sits above red—a symbol of its defiant community spirit.
—Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 19 Oct. 2025
View gallery - 13 images This recently completed tiny house turns traditional small living on its head – literally – with an upside-down layout that places a bedroom downstairs and a living area above.
—New Atlas, 7 Oct. 2025
For the prettiest upside-down cornbread, pack the onion slices into the pan tightly.
—Ann Taylor Pittman, Southern Living, 5 Oct. 2025
In free fall, the sheet deforms into an upside-down bell when a weight is attached at its center.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 1 Oct. 2025
The trees across the street, in the park, looked like upside-down trees.
—Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2025
Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 20 Oct. 2025
In the traditional view of the upside-down flying Pegasus, both the bright and faint curved lines of stars attached to Alpheratz make up the constellation Andromeda.
—Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 19 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, the show has hosted plenty of controversial musical performances, such as NBC removing upside-down American flags from Rage Against the Machine’s amps in 1996 to Ashlee Simpson’s botched vocal performance in 2004.
—William Earl, Variety, 19 Oct. 2025
This Irish American neighborhood is famous for its quirky upside-down traffic light, where green proudly sits above red—a symbol of its defiant community spirit.
—Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 19 Oct. 2025
View gallery - 13 images This recently completed tiny house turns traditional small living on its head – literally – with an upside-down layout that places a bedroom downstairs and a living area above.
—New Atlas, 7 Oct. 2025
For the prettiest upside-down cornbread, pack the onion slices into the pan tightly.
—Ann Taylor Pittman, Southern Living, 5 Oct. 2025
In free fall, the sheet deforms into an upside-down bell when a weight is attached at its center.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 1 Oct. 2025
The trees across the street, in the park, looked like upside-down trees.
—Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for upside-down
Adjective
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The podcast episode premiered amid Angelia Solomon's ongoing court battle more than a decade after her and Aaron Solomon's bitter and messy divorce in 2013.—
Katie Nixon,
Nashville Tennessean,
24 Oct. 2025
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Moisten the disposable sheets with water and a gentle cleaning agent like Dawn dish soap, then use the DIY wet wipes to clean countertops or messy faces.—
Melissa Locker,
Southern Living,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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San Diego’s chaotic shift in city trash service has begun to stabilize, with more customers signing up for new bins and more of the roughly 19,000 property owners who lost city service managing to strike deals with private haulers.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
19 Oct. 2025
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Her other grands live full, busy and chaotic lives.—
Abigail Van Buren,
Boston Herald,
19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The series does not touch on the tabloid attention that followed the Beckhams in 2004, when it was alleged that David had an affair with his personal assistant, Rebecca Loos, and the many further accusations of cheating that littered gossip columns after.—
Scarlett Harris,
Time,
9 Oct. 2025
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Cigarette butts are the most littered item on the planet.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
16 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Those willing to put in the time (and those who aren't easily wigged out) may find to their confused delight that Tippett is the maddest creative god of them all.—
Chris Snellgrove,
Entertainment Weekly,
24 Oct. 2025
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The Oscar-winning filmmaker makes the viewer as torn and confused and at wit’s end as the people trying to avoid doomsday.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Another study challenging the MICI scenario noted that breaking ice also tends to form a mélange, a dense, jumbled slurry of icebergs and sea ice.—
Evan Howell,
Quanta Magazine,
20 Oct. 2025
-
While Texas Tech has emerged as the clear favorite to win the conference (-120 odds on BetMGM), the chasing pack is still a jumbled mess.—
Dan Santaromita,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Jackson Lamb has long, greasy hair and a pot belly over which hangs a filthy old trench coat.—
Barbara Ellis,
Denver Post,
20 Oct. 2025
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On the other end, Ja’Marr Chase is coming off an absolutely filthy touchdown grab last Sunday.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Chelsea occasionally bypassed the press with Gusto, a right-back playing in midfield, and captain Reece James interchanging positions, but were not helped by sloppy moments.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
19 Oct. 2025
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Or that fixing problems like their sloppy first-quarter defense and stagnant run game — at least for one week — gives reason to believe their floor and ceiling will rise higher as the season progresses.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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There were no mice in Gene and Betsy’s house, which was cluttered, messy, maybe, but not hoardy or dirty.—
Joy Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
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Tens of thousands of pieces of space junk — and millions more smaller bits of orbital debris — are cluttered in low Earth orbit, the narrow band of space where many telecommunications and GPS satellites circle the planet.—
Denise Chow,
NBC news,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Upside-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upside-down. Accessed 27 Oct. 2025.
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