messyadjective
uk/ˈmes.i/us/ˈmes.i/messy adjective (DIRTY/UNTIDY)
B1 untidy:
a messy kitchen
messy hands/hair
His bedroom's always messy.
producing or causing dirt and untidiness:
Eating spaghetti can be a messy business.
Vicky is a really good cook but she's messy.
More examples
- She quickly became accustomed to his messy ways.
- Her house is very messy.
- The children really enjoy messy play.
- My hair is so messy.
- How can you find anything when the house is so messy?
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Dirty & untidy
- -stained
- all over the place idiom
- besmeared
- bespattered
- bloodstained
- cat
- inky
- look like something the cat brought/dragged in idiom
- manky
- mucky
- ragged
- ragtag
- squalid
- streaky
- tangle
- tangled
- tarnish
- tousled
- unclean
- unkempt
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messy adjective (SITUATION)
used to describe a situation that is confused and unpleasant:
A war will be a long and messy business.
They had a bitter, messy divorce.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Serious and unpleasant
- abominable
- abysmal
- apocalyptic
- appalling
- awfully
- belief
- corrosive
- grim
- grisly
- grotesque
- gruesome
- hate
- noxious
- revolting
- rotten
- shitty
- shocking
- shockingly
- stinking
- wretched
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messily
adverb uk/ˈmes.əl.i/us/ˈmes.əl.i/