1
as in havoc
a state in which everything is out of order
the bachelor party had left the house in a total mess
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in meal
food eaten or prepared for eating at one time
a mess of oatmeal
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
4
as in loads
a considerable amount
an unexpected Super Bowl loss that unleashed a whole mess of finger-pointing and second-guessing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to interfere
to interest oneself in what is not one's concern
please don't mess with me while I'm trying to concentrate
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of mess
Kelsey Neubauer, CNBC, 31 May 2025
But what continues to infuriate me is how and why Chicago is in this mess in the first place.
—Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2025
Ali Faccenda, People.com, 13 Feb. 2025
Add in a high lottery pick (don’t worry, Raptors fans, Ingram isn’t good enough or healthy enough to mess that up), and their top six salaries alone will push the team to the tax line for a squad that on paper will be fighting for the Play-In.
—John Hollinger, The Athletic, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mess
Noun
That could leave you or your heirs with a thorny financial mess and even the prospect of foreclosure.
—Kelsey Neubauer, CNBC, 31 May 2025
But what continues to infuriate me is how and why Chicago is in this mess in the first place.
—Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2025
Verb
Tackle messes on carpet and hard floors with Shark’s 2-in-1 robot vacuum and mop.
—Ali Faccenda, People.com, 13 Feb. 2025
Add in a high lottery pick (don’t worry, Raptors fans, Ingram isn’t good enough or healthy enough to mess that up), and their top six salaries alone will push the team to the tax line for a squad that on paper will be fighting for the Play-In.
—John Hollinger, The Athletic, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mess
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mess
Noun
-
Smoke follows a detective (Jurnee Smollett) and an arson investigator (Taron Egerton) who are trying to catch a pair of serial arsonists wreaking fiery havoc across the Pacific Northwest.—
Madison Bloom,
Pitchfork,
28 May 2025
-
Infusing the trenches with Allen and Hargrave should make for more havoc in one-on-one matchups.—
Alec Lewis,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
Noun
-
Scorpios' restaurant welcomes diners for long meals, alfresco.—
Eileen Falkenberg-Hull,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 May 2025
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Each of 75 winners will get 12 months of deals including free meals, breakfast items and shakes – about $480 worth of deals.—
Mike Snider,
USA Today,
27 May 2025
Noun
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In typical Armstrong fashion, the characters are dressed in mostly beige or monochrome colors without a logo in sight — a signifier that for the rich, quiet luxury never dies.—
Hikmat Mohammed,
Footwear News,
31 May 2025
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Beets are known for their slight heart shape, bright colors, earthy flavor, and the ability to stain everything in sight when sliced in preparation for a meal.—
Lauren Panoff,
Verywell Health,
30 May 2025
Verb
-
The government argues that district courts are expressly barred under the Immigration and Nationality Act from interfering in the execution of final removal orders, particularly under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(g).—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
27 May 2025
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The only way McAfee wins this is if someone interferes and costs Gunther the match or Gunther beats him so violently that he gets disqualified.—
Jeremy Hanna,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 May 2025
Noun
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Whether a dream or not, Devon’s definitely in her own personal hell.—
Caroline Framke,
Vulture,
22 May 2025
-
Voters from the United States to the Netherlands have installed far right-wing, anti-immigration, anti-people governments hell bent on punishing migration via the most inhumane measures imaginable.—
Chadd Scott,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2025
Noun
-
At Desa Potato Head, included breakfast buffets shifted to à la carte menus.—
Jen Rose Smith,
AFAR Media,
27 May 2025
-
The MacMillan Dining Room has an excellent dinner menu with farm-to-table ingredients, including a variety of produce grown directly on-site.—
Kaitlyn McInnis,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
Noun
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Objects are often askew and out of frame, and everyday sounds like a toilet flush or blinds being pulled assume a low, staticky growl, as though frights fueled by childish imagination.—
Gayle Sequeira,
Vulture,
20 Jan. 2025
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In a second Instagram Stories post, the singer offered another look at the cake, featuring a large bust of a clicker, the fungal zombie-esque frights from the Last of Us video game franchise and HBO series of the same name.—
Gil Macias,
People.com,
13 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Prior to the Darkchild deal, HarbourView had acquired rights from major artists, writers and producers, including T-Pain, Pat Benatar, Kane Brown, Luis Fonsi, James Fauntleroy, Wiz Khalifa and Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac, among others.—
Ethan Millman,
HollywoodReporter,
29 May 2025
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Legal teams for the U.S. and Qatari governments are now saying a deal for a $4 billion luxury jet to be used as Air Force One is not finalized, according to the The Washington Post.—
Alexx Altman-Devilbiss,
Baltimore Sun,
29 May 2025
Video
Hot Mess
Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings
Cite this Entry
“Mess.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mess. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
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