untidy

[uhn-tahy-dee]

adjective

untidier, untidiest 

1. not tidy or neat; slovenly; disordered.

   an untidy room; an untidy person.

2. not well-organized or carried out.

   an untidy plan.

verb (used with object)

untidied, untidying 

1. to mess up; disorder; disarrange.

   The guests untidied the room.

untidy

/ ʌnˈtaɪdɪ /

adjective

1. not neat; slovenly

verb

1. (tr) to make untidy

Other Word Forms

• untidily adverb
• untidiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of untidy¹

Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225; un- ¹, tidy

Example Sentences

"Dog law in general is an untidy mess."

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"We were a bit untidy in attack but I thought we were outstanding in defence. We really cut off their edges, shut them right out."

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There have been complaints about the increasingly untidy nature of the park with rubbish and sanitation concerns raised.

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"We were a little bit untidy. Our maul could have been better and we let them off the hook at times," he told BBC.

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In a cagey encounter, players appeared fatigued with both teams untidy in possession and lacking quality in the final third.

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Related Words

• bedraggled 
• jumbled www.thesaurus.com
• messy 
• sloppy 
• tangled