Messy Meaning
/ˈmɛsi/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjIn a disorderly state; chaotic; disorderly.
adjProne to causing mess.
Sentence Examples
My hair is so messy!
My locker partner has made our locker very messy.
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the children played all day, the living room was very ____ and needed cleaning.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Eating spaghetti can be a very ____ affair, especially if you are also wearing a clean white shirt.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree English mess Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English messy From mess + -y.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Economics is a messy discipline: too fluid to be a science, too rigorous to be an art. Perhaps it is fitting that economists’ most-used metric, gross domestic product (GDP), is a tangle too. GDP measures the total value of output in an economic territory."
— 2013 August 3, “Boundary problems”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847, archived from the original on 11 Mar 2023:
"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."
— 2008 May 4, Alexandra Jacobs, “Blame the Messager”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 18 Dec 2021:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
After the children played all day, the living room was very ____ and needed cleaning.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Eating spaghetti can be a very ____ affair, especially if you are also wearing a clean white shirt.