messier; messiest
1
a
: marked by confusion, disorder, or dirt : untidy
a messy room
b
: likely to create a mess
a messy task/hobby
messy paint
3
: extremely unpleasant or trying
messy lawsuits
a messy divorce
Examples of messy in a Sentence
Painting a room can be messy work.
Some kinds of glue are messier than others.
a delicious but messy sandwich
Recent Examples on the Web
Some of Johnson's most ardent sparring partners, those most conservative Republican lawmakers, turned their blame for the messy process not on Johnson's leadership but on their own GOP allies across the Capitol in the Senate, who often dismiss the House's work.
—
ABC News, 1 May 2026
Some of Johnson’s most ardent sparring partners, those most conservative Republican lawmakers, turned their blame for the messy process not on Johnson’s leadership but on their own GOP allies across the Capitol in the Senate, who often dismiss the House’s work.
—Lisa Mascaro, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
Paglen’s ideas, collected between two covers, carve a clean, linear path through our messy neural era, engaging in the kind of big-picture sense-making that books remain well suited to do, even as AI encroaches on this terrain.
—Louis Bury, ARTnews.com, 1 May 2026
Fragments of blue plastic embedded in the victim’s remains, the prosecutor argues, indicate that the blue pool was used to aid in the messy business of dismemberment.
—Joy Press, Vanity Fair, 1 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for messy
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ABC News, 1 May 2026
Some of Johnson’s most ardent sparring partners, those most conservative Republican lawmakers, turned their blame for the messy process not on Johnson’s leadership but on their own GOP allies across the Capitol in the Senate, who often dismiss the House’s work.
—Lisa Mascaro, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
Paglen’s ideas, collected between two covers, carve a clean, linear path through our messy neural era, engaging in the kind of big-picture sense-making that books remain well suited to do, even as AI encroaches on this terrain.
—Louis Bury, ARTnews.com, 1 May 2026
Fragments of blue plastic embedded in the victim’s remains, the prosecutor argues, indicate that the blue pool was used to aid in the messy business of dismemberment.
—Joy Press, Vanity Fair, 1 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for messy
Cite this Entry
“Messy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/messy. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
messy
adjective
messier; messiest
1
: marked by confusion, disorder, or dirt : untidy
2
: extremely unpleasant or trying
messy lawsuits
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