as in chaotic
lacking in order, neatness, and often cleanliness
having a messy room is virtually de rigueur for a college student
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Recent Examples of messy
While recent albums from Dua Lipa, Grande and Lorde treated self-care and introspection as a kind of therapeutic salvation, Charli shifted hard into goblin mode, unfurling a litany of barely euphemistic drug references and proudly owning her messiest contradictions.
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Lindsay Zoladz, New York Times, 26 Dec. 2024
The AeroGarden Harvest Elite 360, an indoor hydroponic gardening system, grows your favorite vegetables, herbs or flowers in water without dealing with messy soil.
—Nora Colomer, Fox News, 20 Dec. 2024
None feels authentic, at least until a messy affair with the unsettling, slightly feral Samuel (Harris Dickinson) encourages her to try out a kind of role-play that’s wholly new.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 24 Dec. 2024
Alas, Costner left after the first part of S5; the second half unceremoniously kills off his character at the start of the first episode, with the remaining season dealing with the messy aftermath of what turns out to be an assassination.
—Ars Technica, 24 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for messy 
Lindsay Zoladz, New York Times, 26 Dec. 2024
The AeroGarden Harvest Elite 360, an indoor hydroponic gardening system, grows your favorite vegetables, herbs or flowers in water without dealing with messy soil.
—Nora Colomer, Fox News, 20 Dec. 2024
None feels authentic, at least until a messy affair with the unsettling, slightly feral Samuel (Harris Dickinson) encourages her to try out a kind of role-play that’s wholly new.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 24 Dec. 2024
Alas, Costner left after the first part of S5; the second half unceremoniously kills off his character at the start of the first episode, with the remaining season dealing with the messy aftermath of what turns out to be an assassination.
—Ars Technica, 24 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for messy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for messy
Adjective
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Watch on Deadline Season 2 picked up after the chaotic Season 1 finale when Pat lands herself in a psychiatric hospital for trying to murder her family with an ax.Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 2 Jan. 2025
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Our chaotic surroundings, meanwhile, provide far more than just ten bits per second of information—and to be fair, the human senses can match this delivery.Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Their puck play was sloppy, their penalty kill was awful and they got consistently outworked by the Canadiens.Matthew Fairburn, The Athletic, 18 Dec. 2024
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Another failed sloppy takedown briefly put Covington on the ground.Trent Reinsmith, Forbes, 15 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Two conditions within this category are atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis, which are often confused.Anisha Shah, Verywell Health, 1 Jan. 2025
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Erivo immediately got emotional as the Victorious alum, looking a little bit confused, held her friend’s finger for support.Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 30 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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My father was living alone in that dark, filthy room like an old animal wallowing in its own excrement.Lee Chang-dong, The New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2024
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Down and out in Tinseltown, where white glistening snow turns to filthy slush.Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 20 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Messy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/messy. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
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