Meaning & use
messily
Last updated
In a disordered, untidy, or careless manner.
See it in a sentence
The toddler ate his spaghetti messily, sauce splattered across the table.
She messily scrawled her signature across the bottom of the form.
A note on using this word
"Messily" can describe both physical untidiness and, figuratively, a chaotic or poorly handled situation, as in "the deal ended messily."
Words with a similar meaning
untidilysloppily
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
neatlytidily
Make it your own
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