untidy
Americanadjective
-
not tidy or neat; slovenly; disordered.
an untidy room; an untidy person.
-
not well-organized or carried out.
an untidy plan.
verb (used with object)
adjective
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of untidy
Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225; see origin at un- 1, tidy
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Happy Birthday to the glorious, untidy, steadfast, magnificent experiment that is the United States.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
In the living room, a pilot rearranges an untidy study desk.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026
There have been complaints about the increasingly untidy nature of the park with rubbish and sanitation concerns raised.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2025
But to Berkowitz the untidy appearance hasn’t diminished what he sees as quality care he’s provided to his ducks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2024
Colonel Korn was an untidy disdainful man with an oily skin and deep, hard lines running almost straight down from his nose between his crepuscular jowls and his square, clefted chin.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Riddle’s reply came quickly, his writing becoming untidier, as though he was hurrying to tell all he knew.
From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling
Aunt Marge loved criticizing him, so the untidier he looked, the happier she would be.
From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling
The handwriting suddenly grew untidier than ever; two great blots defaced the paper; the style became feebly hysterical.
From Poor Miss Finch by Wilkie Collins
As for their studio—there was no untidier jumble of old armor and brasses and Spanish leather in Paris; and Mme.
From Frances Waldeaux by Rebecca Harding Davis
Char saw Mrs. Potter, untidier than ever, handing steaming cups across her buffet with incredible rapidity.
From The War-Workers by E.M. Delafield
He was the untidiest person in the world.
From The Guardian ● May 29, 2013
Laval devotes much time to his toilet, but he is one of the untidiest political figures on earth.
From Time Magazine Archive
The bloods wore evening dress; even the untidiest junior oiled his hair and put on a clean collar.
From The Loom of Youth by Alec Waugh
No light was in the room, but the gas-lamp of the yard shed flickering and uncertain gleams through the window into the barest and untidiest of chambers.
From Left to Ourselves or, John Headley's Promise. by Catharine Shaw
Eric followed his guide up four short flights of marble stairs and was shewn into the untidiest room that he had ever seen, filled in equal measure with the priceless and the worthless.
From The Education of Eric Lane by Stephen McKenna
Never mind all the stuff she has persuaded the untidied masses to extract from their overstuffed homes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2019
And at night the intrepid traveler is not surprised to return and find the room still unmade, the bureau still undusted and the damp towel still on the untidied washstand.
From Time Magazine Archive
O my chamber's untidied, unmade my bed Though the day has begun to wear!
From Wessex Poems and Other Verses by Thomas Hardy
The remains of a fire untidied the grate; the flimsiest curtains were hung before the windows.
From Sparrows: the story of an unprotected girl by Horace W. C. (Horace Wykeham Can) Newte
The one thing I never could stand is a great lout of a man smoking all over my house and going to sleep in his chair after dinner, and untidying everything.
From Getting Married by Bernard Shaw
He hoped that her hands were not untidying him beyond quick repair: he very much disliked having his hair ruffled.
From Burning Sands by Arthur Weigal
You can't tidy anything without untidying yourself; just look at my trousers.
From Manalive by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
