messy

adj
/ˈmɛsi/

Etymology

From mess + -y.

  1. derived from missum
  2. derived from mes
  3. derived from mēnsa — “table; meal
  4. inherited from mēse
  5. inherited from mes
  6. suffixed as messy — “mess + -y

Definitions

  1. In a disorderly state

    In a disorderly state; chaotic; disorderly.

    • a messy office
    • Jim ran his fingers through his messy brown hair.
  2. Prone to causing mess.

    • He is the messiest person I've ever met.
  3. Difficult or unpleasant to deal with.

    • a messy divorce
    • Say bonjour to the botched R.S.V.P. The practice of replying to invitations, let alone actually showing up to parties as promised, has become as antiquated as the chimney sweep, and much messier.
  4. + 1 more definition
    1. Argumentative, spreading spreading gossip, talking behind someone's back

      • They keep starting fights with Sam, they're so messy.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at messy. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01messy02prone03downward04toward05relation06tone07scale08ordered

A definitional loop anchored at messy. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at messy

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA