messy
Americanadjective
-
messier,
comparative
-
messiest
superlative
-
characterized by a dirty, untidy, or disordered condition.
a messy room.
-
causing a mess.
a messy recipe; messy work.
-
embarrassing, difficult, or unpleasant.
a messy political situation.
-
characterized by moral or psychological confusion.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of messy
Explanation
Messy things are sloppy, disorganized, or dirty. Your messy room isn't bothering anyone but you — but your messy clothes might not be appropriate for your cousin's formal wedding. When a house is messy, it's cluttered and untidy — there might be clothes on the floor or dishes on the table and counters. A messy notebook could be jammed with papers in no particular order, and a child's messy face may very well be covered with chocolate ice cream. Messy dates from the 1840s, and its figurative meaning, "unethical" or "confused," like a messy divorce, came along in the 1920s.
Vocabulary lists containing messy
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:
Trading action has been volatile and even messy at times.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026
There is no doubt that the Cornell case is messy.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
Maybe all of that messy human friction had a point beyond just, say, getting a spaghetti sauce recipe.
From Slate ● Oct. 2, 2026
"Physicists call this trait universality -- the messy, microscopic details wash out and only a few essential features survive," explains Jason Alicea, William K. Davis Professor of Theoretical Physics.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
“I’ll bet when he’s older, though, Thor will love spaghetti and meatballs,” Bat said happily, twirling a messy forkful of noodles.
From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold
The monthslong rout in global government bonds is getting messier and weirder.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
The Dodgers will save the messier celebration for clinching the division.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
Their findings suggest that "early Neo-Assyrian political history was much messier, but also more interesting, than has so far been recognized."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
Love has always been central to FLO's music, but on this album they explore its messier realities, with nights out providing the backdrop for stories of heartbreak, healing and friendship.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
She has us bring old shirts of our fathers from home so we can do messier art without getting our clothes dirty.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Of all the fronts in the AI wars—funding, electricity, chips—the messiest is the fight for human capital.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 25, 2026
While Marvel certainly isn’t the most esteemed studio in contemporary filmmaking, it’s turning into the messiest.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2025
But the messiest part is likely yet to come.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 2, 2024
It is also one of the messiest, populated by a shifting cast of painters and locales.
From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2023
The area around my bed was the messiest part of the room, except for the area under my bed, which was even worse.
From "Kira-Kira" by Cynthia Kadohata
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.
