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mess
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- pronunciation:
- mes
- parts of speech:
- noun, verb
- phrases:
- mess around
- features:
- Word History, Word Explorer
| part of speech: |
noun |
| definition 1: |
a state of being dirty or not neat.
I had to agree that my room was a mess.
- synonyms:
- dirtiness, disorder, filthiness, sloppiness, slovenliness
- similar words:
- jumble, litter, muddle, offensiveness, pigpen, tumble
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| definition 2: |
a state of confusion or trouble.
The office was in a mess after the secretary quit.- synonyms:
- chaos, confusion, hash, jam, jumble, muddle, snarl, tangle
- similar words:
- complication, difficulty, dilemma, embarrassment, fix, predicament, scrape, trouble, tumble, turmoil
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| definition 3: |
a meal eaten by a group, or the room in which this meal is eaten.
Soldiers eat their meals in the mess.- similar words:
- cafeteria, meal, table
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| related words: |
anarchy, batch, bust, chaos, disorder, tangle |
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| part of speech: |
verb |
| inflections: |
messes, messing, messed |
| definition 1: |
to make dirty or not tidy (often followed by "up").
The dogs messed up the garden by digging up the plants.- synonyms:
- clutter, dirty, disorder, litter
- antonyms:
- straighten
- similar words:
- jumble, muss
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| definition 2: |
to ruin or cause problems with (usu. followed by "up").
Losing my ticket messed up my plan to go to the concert.- synonyms:
- jumble, muddle, snarl
- antonyms:
- straighten
- similar words:
- confuse, spoil, tangle
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| related words: |
clutter, litter |
| phrase: |
mess around |
The word mess comes from an early French word that means "an amount of food put out at a meal."
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