Dictionary

messy en · ADJ

Pronunciation

(Southern-England) audio
/ˈmɛsi/

Etymology

Etymology tree English mess Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English messy From mess + -y.

Meanings

(of a place, person, qualifier:situation; etc; situation; etc) In a disorderly state; chaotic; disorderly.
- a messy office
- Economics is a messy discipline: too fluid to be a science, too rigorous to be an art. Perhaps it is fitting that economists’ most-used metric, gross domestic product (GDP), is a tangle too. GDP measures the total value of output in an economic territory. 2013 August 3, “Boundary problems”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847, archived from the original on 11 Mar 2023:
- Jim ran his fingers through his messy brown hair.
(of a person) Prone to causing mess.
- He is the messiest person I've ever met.
(of a situation) Difficult or unpleasant to deal with.
- Say bonjour to the botched R.S.V.P. The practice of replying to invitations, let alone actually showing up to parties as promised, has become as antiquated as the chimney sweep, and much messier. 2008 May 4, Alexandra Jacobs, “Blame the Messager”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 18 Dec 2021:
- a messy divorce
(of a person) Argumentative, spreading spreading gossip, talking behind someone's back
- They keep starting fights with Sam, they're so messy.

Forms

Spelling	Features	Labels	Source
messiest	Degree=Sup		lexicographic
messier	Degree=Cmp		lexicographic

Synonyms

untidy (in a disorderly state) · chaotic (in a disorderly state) · cluttered (in a disorderly state) · disorderly (in a disorderly state)

Translations (75)

ca desordenat (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · ka ჭუჭყიანი (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · ro dezordonat (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · ru гря́зный (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · pl bałaganiarski (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · it disordinato (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · el ακατάστατος (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · es desprolijo (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · ja 乱雑な (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · la incomptus (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · eo malorda (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · vi lộn xộn (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · es desordenado (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · he מבולגן (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · mi hahohaho (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · ca desendreçat (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · mi pōrohe (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · sv rörig (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · tr karmakarışık (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · vi hỗn loạn (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · fr désordonné (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · nl rommelig (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · fr désorganisé (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · ru неря́шливый (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · hi अस्त-व्यस्त (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · arz متكركب (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · sk neuprataný (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · fi sekainen (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · km រញ៉េរញ៉ៃ (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · hu rendetlen (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · pdt onkrakjt (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · kri chaka-chaka (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · uk неоха́йний (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · bg разхвърлян (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · es inordenado (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · tr darmadağınık (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · mi pūaweawe (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · de unordentlich (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · tr pasaklı (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · nl wanordelijk (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · ga míshlachtmhar (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · is sóðalegur (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · de chaotisch (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · be неахайны (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · he חסר סדר (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · fr chaotique (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · ja きたない (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · nl chaotisch (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · pt desordenado (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · pt caótico (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · no rotete (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · eo ĥaosa (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · mk ра́сфрлен (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · be бязладны (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · arz مكركب (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · uk безла́дний (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · id berantakan (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · ro haotic (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · cy anniben (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · pt bagunçado (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · ru беспоря́дочный (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · mk неу́реден (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · pt desorganizado (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · fi sotkuinen (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · pl niechlujny (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · sk v neporiadku (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · sk neupravený (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · tr karman çorman (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · sk rozhádzaný (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · nl warrig (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · cmn 凌亂 (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · ga smeadráilte (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · hi अव्यवस्थित (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · ja ぐちゃぐちゃ (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly) · pl zasyfiony (in a disorderly state; causing mess or confusion; chaotic; disorderly)