messy
1. untidy: 2. producing or causing dirt and untidiness: 3. used to describe a…
Meaning of
messy
in English
messy
adjective
us
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/
ˈmes.i
/
uk
Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio
/
ˈmes.i
/
messy
adjective
(
DIRTY/UNTIDY
)
B1
a messy
kitchen
His bedroom’s always messy.
This shirt is dirty.
Wash your hands before dinner – they’re filthy!
He’s the typical scruffy student.
Ben’s bedroom is always really messy.
Don’t wipe your grimy hands on that clean towel!
Eating
spaghetti
can be a messy
business
.
Vicky is a really good
cook
but she’s messy.
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?
messy
adjective
(
SITUATION
)
A
war
will be a
long
and messy
.
They had a
bitter
, messy
divorce
.
Related word
(Definition of
messy
Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus
© Cambridge University Press)
messy
| Intermediate English
messy
adjective
us
Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio
/
ˈmes·i
/
He’s got a messy
personal
life
.
(Definition of
messy
Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary
© Cambridge University Press)
Examples
of
messy
Here’s history happening, and it’s a little
messy
.
Gizmodo
Breaking news has always been
messy
and hard, but now we’re all involved.
Wired
More examples
Fewer examples
As the skies got busier after the war, they also got messier.
Gizmodo
Evolution drives relentlessly forward, leaving behind a
messy
wake.
National Geographic
Kids outgrow their shoes and clothes quickly, and they tend to get them
messy
too.
USA TODAY
This could mean more, faster, and messier regulations.
Ars Technica
Start by identifying the two or three things that cause you the most stress on a consistent basis — maybe having a
messy
house is one.
Huffington Post
But that makes for a
messy
politics, a difficult politics.
The Atlantic
Being a person means being unpredictable and
messy
, and the math gets even more complicated when relationships come into the picture.
NPR
The books need to be on shelves, not in
messy
stacks on the floor (strike two).
Huffington Post
Our
messy
failures evoke a struggle to articulate something important, and although our writerly language has improved, the effort applies to everyone.
Huffington Post
The debate over online anonymity, and all the whistleblowers, trolls, anarchists, journalists and political dissidents it enables, is
messy
enough.
Wired
Action scenes, including the residential shootout that explodes when police finally corner the bombers, feel appropriately anarchic and
messy
.
The Denver Post
Translations of
messy
in more languages
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Translation
English (US)
Adjective
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