messily
Americanadverb
Etymology
Origin of messily
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.
It’s a Sheridan, “Landman” kind of TV world, and a lot of powerful people hope we’ll get hooked on how messily it unfolds.
From Salon • Nov. 16, 2025
It was a bottom-up process, messily divided between three distinct code-making organizations until the 1990s, when the International Code Council was created.
From Slate • Feb. 28, 2025
The scene devolves into what looks like a giant, three-dimensional Rubik’s Cube, with individuals at the center of each quadrant spinning, messily, in different directions — all peppered with a healthy dose of laughter.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2023
From the Dahl legacy, chocolate and bile and personality sloshing messily in all directions, he molds a digestive biscuit.
From New York Times • Jan. 17, 2023
I take the time to reorder my supplies, wad up the sleeping bag, and messily stuff everything into the backpack.
From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
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.
