Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Disorderly and dirty: a messy bedroom.
- adj. Exhibiting or demonstrating carelessness: messy reasoning.
- adj. Unpleasantly difficult to settle or resolve: a messy court case.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- In a state of mess, confusion, ordirtiness; making a mess; littered or littering; untidy.
Wiktionary
- adj. of a place in a disorderly state; chaotic; disorderly.
- adj. of a person prone to causing mess.
- adj. of a situation difficult or unpleasant to deal with
WordNet 3.0
- adj. dirty and disorderly
Etymologies
- From mess + -y. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“What we need instead is what I describe as messy coherence, a sense of direction with with requisite diversity.”
“Now, this is what I call a messy situation because Thai police are hellbent on proving that it was anything but murder.”
“But all she did was preserve what the department had; she has yet to upgrade the operation or figure out a way for her department to become the clear mother ship for US smart power deployed in messy international situations.”
The Huffington Post: Steve Clemons: State Department Should Have Gone for More in QDDR Process
“Bright photographs fetishize hardship -- happy Natives fishing, pensive Natives in messy houses.”
The Huffington Post: Stephanie Woodard: The New Indian Fighters: Lt. Col. McCaskill and Major WaPo
“There is always a technocratic urge in messy changing technology markets to swoop in and mandate a standard from above, even while the technology is still evolving.”
Coyote Blog » Blog Archive » The Technocratic Standard-Setting Urge
“Where things get messy is less with tax-exempt status, but with allowing federal and state aid to flow through these institutions.”
Does separation of church and state not apply to Jerry Falwell? « Dating Jesus
“Ginsberg's life was messy, and reflecting it too precisely would almost certainly result in messy filmmaking.”
“When they found nothing to arrest me on – they decided that a house this messy is not habitavle for my 16 year old daughter to live in.”
D.C. Prosecutor Discusses Deborah Jeane’s Trial and Suicide « Bound, Not Gagged
“Of course, I was the President, a President in messy dark plaits who despaired, sometimes, of the lack of enthusiasm of the troops.”
Writer Unboxed » Blog Archive » THE BLUEBELL CLUB: Or, Confession of a Literary Crime
“I believe in messy, upsetting, wild love that erases all boundaries.”
Writer Unboxed » Blog Archive » INTERVIEW: Barbara Samuel, Part 2
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘messy’.
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UK Usage - Find US Equivalent
All these terms have a (different) American English equivalent. Wonder if you can identify them?
abridgement (abri..., accoutrement, accoutre, acknowledgement (..., opposite, advert, adaptor, adapter, sticking plaster, advertise, adviser (advisor ..., adze, aesthete and 1196 more...
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Adjectives with 2 syllables that end ...
angry, bossy, busy, chilly, cheesy, creepy, dirty, early, funny, hairy, happy, healthy and 126 more...
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colleen's words
yellow, green, pie, blue, fur, people, incense, book, brown, avuncular, mountain, fog and 1316 more...
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Faintheart's Words
onomatopoeia, no, terrafactive, word, faint, heart, joy, quixotic, karla, half, amp, tardis and 181 more...
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sputnik
canoodle, span, hasten, discombobulate, sputnik, clod, encrusted, spit-shine, zeitgeist, landslide, laid, cherish and 350 more...
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my dictionary
able, abnormally, abroad, absent, abstract, acceptable, acceptance, access, accessible, accession, according to, account and 4551 more...
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A Dram Too Many
notanotherjazzpoet had a very promising list which appears to have petered out. Yes, tosspots: descriptions of being drunk. Walk five metres on the white line then leave your suggestions right here.
drunk, guttered, pissed, baked, three sails in th..., smashed, paralytic, out of your tree, hammered, bombed, glazed, blotto and 336 more...
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fliti's Words
panache, mushaboom, aubergine, serpentine, glimpse, schadenfreude, syzygy, plethora, zeitgeist, defenestrate, callipygian, ubiquitous and 239 more...
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Traits I don't like in people
A list of traits that I don't like in others.
arrogance, confrontational, deceptive, untruthful, volatile, tempermental, feisty, pushy, opinionated, forceful, testy, moody and 11 more...
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Adjectives That Describe Me
sympathetic, intense, passionate, depressed, pessimistic, moody, affectionate, compassionate, friendly, selective, stubborn, emotional and 22 more...
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Stuffie: Git in here!
Things you get.
me, mail, it, up, started, ready to go, trashed, lucky, fired, good grades, hot babes, sick and 41 more...
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eleven
translucent, epiphany, avoid, random, elapse, rumble, forlorn, jam, even, isle, thousand, itch and 21 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for messy.
bilby "Being in the VIP tent at the races isn't all it's cracked up to be. You have to small talk the company clients when all you really want to do is get messy with your mates."
- flatmate, July 2011. Jul 14, 2012