messed (up)

verb

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

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in stumbled
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 licked
to strike repeatedly threatened that he would mess him up if he cheated at the game

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for messed (up)
  1. fumbled
  2. disrupted
  3. stumbled
  4. licked
  5. blew
  6. confused
  7. tripped
  8. pounded
Verb
  • However, Cam Skattebo fumbled to give Washington an opportunity.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 12 Oct. 2026
  • With Oregon outside linebacker Nasir Wyatt blitzing, Iamaleava attempted to throw the ball away to the flat and instead fumbled, giving the Ducks the ball on the Bruins’ one-yard-line.
    — Connor Dullinger, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of fumbled
Verb
  • Nearby, elite engineering school Mines Paris was also disrupted by blockades.
    — Makini Brice, Arkansas Online, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Gone are the four nations, corresponding to the elements, who coexisted in harmony that was disrupted and then, episode by episode, restored.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of disrupted
Verb
  • Kore-eda stumbled on the manga in a bookshop rather than through its serial run.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Jessica Koslow stumbled upon them at another shop, Virgil Normal, resulting in a collaboration with her restaurant Sqirl.
    — Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of stumbled
Verb
  • Tuxedo kitten Paolina bounced onto my chest and licked my fingers.
    — Solvej Schou, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Her entire face got licked clean off her head when suburban floodwaters breached the cardboard hull protecting Kath’s basement memorabilia stack a few months before I was born.
    — Claire Carusillo, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of licked
Verb
  • But the administration blew past a Sunday evening deadline and ran two of the ads into the early hours of Monday, advertising data from AdImpact shows.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The Commanders scored a touchdown two minutes into the game and never trailed, yet still blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead.
    — Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of blew
Verb
  • Prime Big Deal Days is Amazon's multiday sales event that takes place in the fall, not to be confused with Prime Day, Amazon's summer shopping event.
    — Kelsey Fogarty, PC Magazine, 6 Oct. 2026
  • At last week's race in Azerbaijan, Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas crashed on the last lap and reportedly blamed it on the software becoming confused and affecting his braking.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of confused
Verb
  • The truest sign that Joseph had tripped the Rams up with Hufanga’s blitz came by looking at Rams right guard Kevin Dotson.
    — Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Since then, price has completely round-tripped the move, giving back the entire post-earnings gap and settling back into the mid-$250s.
    — Josh Brown,Sean Russo, CNBC, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of tripped
Verb
  • While four Brewers pitchers combined on a three-hitter and the defense made nearly every big play, Milwaukee’s lineup calmly worked counts, pounded 10 hits through the Padres’ defense and manufactured enough runs to head home smiling.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026
  • But, pounded thin, breaded, and fried, served under lashings of sweet-sharp blackberry sauce, with a confetti of whole blackberries and leaves of mint, the lamb version was brilliant and bizarre, a symphony of strong-willed flavors.
    — Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of pounded
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

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

“Messed (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/messed%20%28up%29. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.

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