1
as in jumbles
a state in which everything is out of order
the bachelor party had left the house in a total mess
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in meals
food eaten or prepared for eating at one time
a mess of oatmeal
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3
as in horrors
something unpleasant to look at
the car was a mess after the accident
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4
as in loads
a considerable amount
an unexpected Super Bowl loss that unleashed a whole mess of finger-pointing and second-guessing
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as in interferes
to interest oneself in what is not one's concern
please don't mess with me while I'm trying to concentrate
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of messes
Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2026
Treat any pet messes on the wood floors as soon as possible to prevent liquid from seeping through the wood.
—Emily Benda Gaylord, The Spruce, 30 Dec. 2025
Sycamores are notorious for making messes.
—Steve Bender, Southern Living, 30 Dec. 2025
Cleaning oven racks regularly can prevent stubborn messes while keeping your favorite appliance in top working order.
—Patricia Shannon, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Dec. 2025
Arriving empty-handed, leaving messes behind, being hours late — behaviors like these reflect obliviousness or busyness at best, or selfishness or entitlement at worst.
—Kristen Rogers, CNN Money, 25 Dec. 2025
This high-end Dyson model is designed to pick up wet and dry messes, like spilled milk or loose hair, and separates them in a debris tray and dirty water tank.
—Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 23 Dec. 2025
For larger messes, the stain-resistant rug is also machine-washable for quick and hassle-free maintenance.
—Rachel Trujillo, PEOPLE, 7 Nov. 2025
Its hot water function makes quick work of sticky messes on the floor (a godsend in my house, since my kids have taken to tipping plates with maple syrup onto the floor) and the steam cleaning setting easily clears deeper stains and eliminates odors.
—Editors Of Bon Appétit, Bon Appetit Magazine, 29 Oct. 2025
Giana Levy, Variety, 31 Oct. 2025
Noun
And much of the international order is an attempt to avert messes, even by letting odious and illegitimate governments stay in power, because messes can be odious too.
—Verb
Somebody does something terrible and messes it up.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for messes
Noun
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The result also spotlights conference championships’ awkward fit in the current system, particularly given the fact that conference expansion has led to jumbles atop each league’s standings.—
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Ray’s most chaotic photograms—jumbles that push out of the frame or look like time bombs ready to explode—find echoes in his films, projected on the back walls, a show in themselves.—
Noun
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Serving Oakland and San Francisco, Project Open Hand serves 2,500 nutritious meals and provides 200 bags of healthy groceries to folks battling the illnesses, isolation and health challenges often associated with aging.—
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Ramona Meals On Wheels is delivering meals to homebound seniors.—
Noun
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Stories The Dial Press, February 24 I love reading about the horrors.—
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Auschwitz survivor Eva Schloss, the stepsister of teenage diarist Anne Frank and a tireless educator about the horrors of the Holocaust, has died.—
Noun
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As more loads were seized through the summer and fall of 2024, Wedding began to rely increasingly on one of Toronto’s most colorful criminal defense attorneys, Deepak Paradkar, for information, according to the indictment.—
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In some of the tunnels that cut through the mountains, there were only a couple of inches to spare on either side of the loads.—
Verb
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If Washington overtly interferes in European elections or takes the dramatic step of annexing Greenland, the postwar alliance framework, already strained, could fracture.—
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This Ministry frequently interferes in employers’ decisions, instigates acts of discrimination by authorities and organizations, brings weight to bear on the organs of justice and even orchestrates propaganda campaigns in the media.—
Noun
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Smith stays largely mum on the news of the day, be that Kirk’s killing, or ICE raids, or whatever hells await in the coming weeks.—
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The protagonist's youth doesn't defang the story, as Silent Hill f wastes no time thrusting Hinako and her friends into their personal hells.—
Noun
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The Des Moines metro’s best dining is defined by places that feel personal — rooms with character, menus with point of view, and teams that show up nightly with consistency and care.—
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The two will continue to evolve their menus together, focusing on seasonality and new inspirations.—
Noun
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Baltimore picked up a win over the Minnesota Vikings as the team set its sights on the AFC North lead.—
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That's when Ratliff shifted his sights on them.—
Cite this Entry
“Messes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/messes. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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