mess
[noun]
Synonyms:
- disorder, chaos, clutter, confusion, disarray, disorganization, hotchpotch, jumble, litter, shambles, untidiness
- difficulty, deep water, dilemma, fix (informal), jam (informal), muddle, pickle (informal), plight, predicament, tight spot
[verb]
Synonyms:
- often with up: dirty, clutter, disarrange, dishevel, muck up (Brit. slang), muddle, pollute, scramble
- often with with: interfere, fiddle (informal), meddle, play, tamper, tinker

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Related Idioms: kettle of fish, make a mess of
Related Words: confusion, disorder, wreck, wreckage, confuse, jumble

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English Thesaurus: untidy, messy, be a mess, cluttered, unkempt, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. mess¹ S2 /mes/ noun
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: mes 'food', from Late Latin missus 'course at a meal', from Latin mittere 'to send']

1. DIRTY/UNTIDY [singular, uncountable] if there is a mess somewhere or a place is a mess, things there are dirty or not neatly arranged:
What a mess!
Sorry – the place is a bit of a mess.
When I got home, the house was a complete mess.
in a mess British English:
The burglars left the house in an awful mess.
You can make cookies if you promise not to make a mess in the kitchen.
clear/clean up the mess
Whoever is responsible for this mess can clear it up immediately!
She hates mess.

2. PROBLEMS/DIFFICULTIES [singular, uncountable] a situation in which there are a lot of problems and difficulties, especially as a result of mistakes or carelessness:
My life’s such a mess.
in a mess
The economy is in a terrible mess.
You got us into this mess, Terry. You can get us out of it.
All she could do was pray that, somehow, she might be able to sort out the mess she had got herself into.

3. make a mess of (doing) something to do something badly:
I feel I’ve made a real mess of my marriage.
Many people make a mess of handling money.

4. PERSON be a mess informal if someone is a mess, they look dirty and untidy, or are in a bad emotional state

5. a mess of something American English informal a lot of something:
a mess of fresh fish

6. ARMY/NAVY [countable] a room in which members of the army, navy etc eat and drink together:
We had lunch in the officers’ mess.

7. WASTE SUBSTANCE [uncountable and countable] British English informal solid waste from an animal:
The dog’s made a mess on the carpet.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. mess² S2 verb

1. [transitive] to make something look untidy or dirty:
He scratched his head and messed his hair even more.

2. [intransitive and transitive] British English if an animal or person messes something, they use the wrong place as a toilet:
He was so drunk that he messed the bed.

3. no messing spoken informal used to say that something was done very easily:
Williams won very comfortably, no messing.

4. [intransitive] to have meals in a room where members of the army, navy etc eat together
mess around (also mess about British English) phrasal verb informal

1. to spend time lazily, doing things slowly and in a way that is not planned:
He spent his vacation messing around on the farm.

2. to behave in a silly way when you should be paying attention or doing something sensible Synonym : fool around:
Stop messing around and get ready for school.

3. mess somebody around to cause a lot of problems for someone, especially by changing your mind often and not being completely honest:
Don’t mess me around – I want the money you promised me.
mess around with somebody/something (also mess about with somebody/something British English) phrasal verb informal

1. to have a sexual relationship with someone that you should not have a sexual relationship with:
She’d been messing around with another man.

2. to spend time playing with something, repairing it etc:
Dave likes messing around with old cars.

3. to use something and make annoying changes to it:
Who’s been messing around with my camera?
mess up phrasal verb informal

1. mess something ↔ up to spoil or ruin something, especially something important or something that has been carefully planned:
It took me ages to get this right – I don’t want some idiot to mess it up.
She felt she’d messed up her whole life.

2. mess something ↔ up to make something dirty or untidy:
Who messed up the kitchen?

3. to make a mistake and do something badly:
I think I messed up on the last question.
mess something ↔ up
It doesn’t matter if you mess it up, you can always try again.

4. mess somebody ↔ up to make someone have emotional or mental problems:
I messed up my kids.

5. mess somebody ↔ up American English informal to hurt someone especially by hitting them
mess with somebody/something phrasal verb informal

1. to get involved with someone or something that may cause problems or be dangerous:
Don’t mess with drugs.

2. to deceive someone or cause trouble for them:
You mess with me, and I’ll rip your head off.

3. to try changing something, especially in a way that damages or spoils it

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

mess
noun
ADJ. absolute, complete, real, right, total | appalling, awful, bloody (taboo), nasty, terrible | confusing | tangled, untidy Her hair was a tangled mess.
gooey, slimy, soggy, sticky | emotional He's an emotional mess since his girlfriend left him.
economic, financial
VERB + MESS leave, make Must you always leave such a mess? She felt she was making a terrible mess of her life.
clean up, clear up, tidy up, wipe up | feel I felt a mess.
look | create, get sb into Who got us into this mess in the first place?
deal with, get sb out of, sort out
PREP. in a ~ The kitchen's in an awful mess.
~ of There was a soggy mess of porridge on the table.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

untidy British English not tidy – used especially when things have not been put back in their correct place:
an untidy bedroom
an untidy desk
The house was cramped and untidy.
messy untidy or dirty. American people use this word instead of untidy. British people use this word, but it sounds less formal than untidy:
a messy kitchen
You've made the table all messy.
be a mess (also be in a mess British English) informal to be very untidy or dirty:
The whole house is in a mess, but I didn’t have time to clean it up.
Sorry everything’s such a mess.
cluttered untidy because there are too many things in a small space:
She gazed around the cluttered kitchen.
The office was cluttered with books.
Her desk was too cluttered.
unkempt untidy and not well-looked after – used about gardens or land:
unkempt lawns
They walked into a wild and unkempt garden.
an unkempt plot in the cemetery
be a pigsty/pit informal used when saying that a place is very untidy and dirty, and someone should clean it:
This place is a pigsty! Clean it up.
I don’t know how you can stand living in a pigsty like this.
My room’s a total pit, but I’m too lazy to clean it.
scruffy British English wearing old and untidy clothes:
My parents think I look scruffy in these jeans, but I like them.
She’s wearing that scruffy old sweater again.
slovenly especially written untidy and lazy:
The servants were old and slovenly.
his slovenly appearance
The work was done in a slow, slovenly way.
bedraggled used when someone looks untidy because they have got wet or dirty:
A rather bedraggled crowd waited outside in the pouring rain.
The children walked along the path, looking miserable and bedraggled.
dishevelled British English, disheveled American English if someone's hair or clothes look dishevelled, they look untidy, for example because they have just been in bed or in a windy place:
Her hair was uncombed and her clothes were dishevelled.
a dishevelled old man
The singer was photographed looking ill and dishevelled.
slob noun [countable] informal someone who is extremely untidy but does not seem to care that they are:
Jo’s such a slob – how can you live like that?
If you keep dressing like a slob, no one’s ever going to ask you for a date.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲