messy

[mes-ee]

adjective

messier, messiest 

1. characterized by a dirty, untidy, or disordered condition.

   a messy room.

2. causing a mess.

   a messy recipe; messy work.

3. embarrassing, difficult, or unpleasant.

   a messy political situation.

4. characterized by moral or psychological confusion.

messy

/ ˈmɛsɪ /

adjective

1. dirty, confused, or untidy

Other Word Forms

• messiness noun
• messily adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of messy¹

First recorded in 1835–45; mess + -y ¹

Example Sentences

Altman’s definition has the advantage of sidestepping the messy, hard-to-define concept of intelligence altogether, instead appealing to a system’s ability to drive revenue.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

But “After the Hunt” feels like a messy first-draft script, shoddily directed, rather than an accomplished feature from a veteran filmmaker.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Like so many disputes involving the Middle East, it’s messy, ugly and unresolved.

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The twin disclosures from the banks illustrate the tangle of financing that flowed through First Brands, which collapsed in late September, owing more than $10 billion in a messy and sudden unraveling.

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Has your home become messy without you even realising?

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• chaotic 
• confused 
• sloppy