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

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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

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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
  • The fight sequences have an engaging messiness, the characters often fumbling around rather than delivering expert moves.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Clinicians should be working to support us, not fumbling incompetently or making paternalistic determinations.
    — Meg LeDuc, STAT, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of fumbling
Verb
  • Over the past decade, cyberattacks against the education sector have risen expeditiously, exposing sensitive data, temporarily disrupting school operations and affecting students' learning.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Integration therefore becomes an important part of introducing upgrades without disrupting the wider mission setup.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of disrupting
Verb
  • Unlike every other film genre, the history of horror, at least since the 1950s, is a story of amateurs stumbling in the dark.
    — Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Instead of stumbling like the Phillies and Cubs, the Padres surged and took with them the #1 Wild Card spot, earning the right to host this series.
    — OutKick, FOXNews.com, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of stumbling
Verb
  • Carter is licking his wounds after the rest of the tribe sent Ana home in a blindside.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Typically, only a low-value male resorts to this behavior, turning to foot-licking as the easiest way to ingratiate himself with women.
    — Tucker Reals, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of licking
Verb
  • This inspires Other Mommy to gruesomely kill Frank in front of Bela, including blowing his head up in an outrageous explosion of blood.
    — William Earl, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Gray noise, per The New York Times, may sound like wind blowing or steady rainfall and works for apartment dwellers sensitive to sharp or fluctuating noises.
    — Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of blowing
Verb
  • Immigrant parents there wanted help writing to their kids’ teachers and making sense of confusing forms.
    — Steven Choi, New York Daily News, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Critics say the requirements have been confusing and difficult for many voters to meet, potentially leaving millions off the registration lists and unable to vote.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of confusing
Verb
  • Every Electric’s team responded by continually updating the battery firmware to reduce the risk of tripping local circuit breakers.
    — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Allen is also remembered for tripping opponents three times in a calendar year, all of them caught on tape.
    — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of tripping
Verb
  • One man was already pounding another's head into a small hole that prisoners used as a toilet.
    — Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Breaking Benjamin As pounding as any heavy metal band, this Pennsylvania group hammers its way to surprisingly melodic choruses.
    — Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 30 Sep. 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 10 Oct. 2026.

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