messing (up)

verb

present participle of mess (up)
1
as in fumbling
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way messed up the drawing and had to start over

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in disrupting
to undo the proper order or arrangement of a nap had messed up her hair and she looked a sight

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in stumbling
to make a mistake if anyone messes up even once while we're recording, we have to start all over again

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4
as in licking
to strike repeatedly threatened that he would mess him up if he cheated at the game

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for messing (up)
  1. fumbling
  2. disrupting
  3. stumbling
  4. licking
  5. blowing
  6. confusing
  7. tripping
  8. pounding
Verb
  • With Yerry De los Santos also fumbling a bunt in the eighth, the Yanks tallied a season-high four errors on the night.
    — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 26 June 2026
  • My first few hours with the EM11 NL were marked by overshooting links, fumbling through simple selections, and occasionally wondering why anyone would voluntarily use a vertical mouse.
    — Sascha Brodsky, PC Magazine, 21 June 2026
Definition of fumbling
Verb
  • Researchers have identified hormone-disrupting and asthma-associated chemicals in some consumer products and continue to investigate combinations of chemicals that may warrant closer testing.
    — Brad Reisfeld, The Conversation, 6 July 2026
  • Its tendency to rapidly reproduce, forming dense colonies on underwater surfaces, can clog pipes, pumps and critical water infrastructure while disrupting local ecosystems.
    — Reeti Malhotra, Sacbee.com, 4 July 2026
Definition of disrupting
Verb
  • German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has also fallen foul of Germany’s World Cup elimination by Paraguay, after stumbling into a social media debacle following a communications blunder.
    — Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 1 July 2026
  • There's been some stumbling plays, thwarted by tripping and dramatic falls.
    — Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 27 June 2026
Definition of stumbling
Verb
  • But the Carolinas have their own ways of making barbecue finger-licking.
    — Amethyst Ganaway, Bon Appetit Magazine, 1 July 2026
  • France’s Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé, who each already have four goals in the tournament, will be licking their lips.
    — David Hickey, NBC news, 30 June 2026
Definition of licking
Verb
  • Technically, officials said, blowing past the deadline means Alameda County is no longer in exclusive negotiations with the Oakland Acquisition Company.
    — Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 4 July 2026
  • But rather than cede ground to an outsider, the town's residents plant TNT in every single structure, blowing them up before Lassiter can get his hands on them.
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 3 July 2026
Definition of blowing
Verb
  • One of the biggest mistakes students make is confusing a loan approval with an affordability recommendation.
    — Scott White, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
  • Meta’s new cloud business — selling excess compute capacity to outside customers — is confusing on its face.
    — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 2 July 2026
Definition of confusing
Verb
  • Neural pathways controlling core bodily functions — feeling in the limbs, movement and breathing — were collapsing one by one, like circuit breakers tripping in rapid succession.
    — Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC news, 30 June 2026
  • The primary question is whether this crowded field of new entrants is actually accomplishing anything, or whether its members are simply tripping over one another with deleterious impact.
    — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 28 June 2026
Definition of tripping
Verb
  • America is better when Paul Skenes is embarrassing hitters with Livvy in the stands pounding Miller Lites.
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 3 July 2026
  • The heart-pounding encounter ended with the calf reunited with its mother, dramatic photos on a cellphone — and the couple continuing on to catch brook trout.
    — Kate Brumback, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026
Definition of pounding
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

messing over
messing (up)
messing (with)
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Cite this Entry

“Messing (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/messing%20%28up%29. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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