1
as in to play
to spend time in aimless activity
spent the vacation day just messing around
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to flirt
to show a sexual attraction for someone just for fun
a guy who goes to the health club mainly to mess around with the women
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to travel
to come or be together as friends
if you continue to mess around with such narrow-minded boobs, you'll begin to think and act like them
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of mess around
But why are the Browns even messing around with this stuff?
—
Zac Jackson, New York Times, 17 June 2025
Paddy: But not all of my dad's college years were about messing around.
—Outside Online, 11 June 2025
Check out Samsung brand reviews for more tech reviews that don’t mess around.
—Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 10 June 2025
Nothing major, but enough messing around to worsen his problems.
—Charlotte Varnes, New York Times, 29 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for mess around
Zac Jackson, New York Times, 17 June 2025
Paddy: But not all of my dad's college years were about messing around.
—Outside Online, 11 June 2025
Check out Samsung brand reviews for more tech reviews that don’t mess around.
—Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 10 June 2025
Nothing major, but enough messing around to worsen his problems.
—Charlotte Varnes, New York Times, 29 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for mess around
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mess around
Verb
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Bullock, 60, and Kidman, 58, who played sisters Sally Owens and Gillian Owens in the original movie, are both returning.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
14 July 2025
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Willits played baseball at Fort Cobb-Broxton High School in Oklahoma.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
14 July 2025
Verb
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But going all day Tuesday and Wednesday is flirting with overkill and asking too much, even of the devout slackers.—
Joe Rexrode,
New York Times,
10 July 2025
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Donald Trump has flirted with the ideology, and his administration has hired multiple staffers who appear sympathetic to the white-nationalist influencer Nick Fuentes, a believer in race science.—
Ali Breland,
The Atlantic,
9 July 2025
Verb
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Fine dining and traveling aboard a boat may seem like an unlikely pairing.—
Caitlin Palumbo,
Forbes.com,
10 July 2025
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The trains traveling in opposite directions must each wait their turn.—
John Kell,
Fortune,
10 July 2025
Verb
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Those have come from two players: Adrian Morejon of the San Diego Padres, who throws an odd knuckleball-changeup hybrid about 1 percent of the time, and Jonah Bride of the Minnesota Twins, an infielder fooling around with the knuckler in blowouts.—
Cody Stavenhagen,
New York Times,
19 June 2025
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As Molly and Guy start to fool around, things get hot and heavy, but Ernie has a job to do.—
Erin Qualey,
Vulture,
7 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Line dances are generally associated with country music, but now creating line dances to pop songs is the new trend.—
Angelica Wells,
Miami Herald,
9 July 2025
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Law enforcement officers raided a San Francisco home Tuesday associated with Devastating Pyrotechnics, the fireworks company linked to a deadly explosion last week in Esparto.—
Daniel Lempres,
Sacbee.com,
9 July 2025
Verb
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The chef retired a few years ago, but his son Hiroyuki Sakamoto is running the kitchen now.—
Amber Gibson,
Travel + Leisure,
15 July 2025
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Black flies can travel for miles and can be found anywhere there are running streams or rivers nearby, even in urban areas.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
15 July 2025
Verb
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Sizes Tablecloths should hang about 8-16 inches on each side for formal dining and about 3-6 inches on each side for casual dining.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
10 June 2025
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Most asteroids hang about in the Mars to Jupiter region, and the ones near Earth obviously hang about a bit closer.—
Dana Taylor,
USA TODAY,
2 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Jackson bonded with Ballard as both of them grew up in the Atlanta area.—
Walter Villa,
Miami Herald,
13 July 2025
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Sharpe bonded with the character, Felix, in Dunham’s scripts and worked with Felber to write his character’s songs on the show.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
11 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mess around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mess%20around. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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