messed around

past tense of mess around
1
2
as in flirted
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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for messed around
Verb
  • The Falcons played their opener two weeks ago and then had a bye.
    Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 9 Sep. 2025
  • The team behind the research noted that many of these genes are tied to developmental delay, which may have played a role in the slower pace of postnatal brain growth in humans compared to chimpanzees.
    Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Koufax had flirted with pitching greatness.
    Steve Futterman, NPR, 9 Sep. 2025
  • The company flirted with bankruptcy.
    Kyle Westaway, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • This approach has enabled Apex to scale quickly while maintaining the stability and resources associated with a corporate partnership.
    William Jones, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Bowlan had to learn the nuances associated with relief work, from arm care to consistent throwing.
    Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 10 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Neural highways that once buzzed with activity are becoming quiet country roads, rarely traveled and slowly overgrown.
    Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
  • The end of winter break was nearing for the two university students, who had traveled to Urbana to visit other water polo players at the University of Illinois, Abraham’s father told CNN.
    Taylor Romine, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • EDTIn a press conference, authorities shared security camera footage of the gunman running across a roof and jumping down from a building before leaving the Utah Valley University campus.
    Zachary Folk, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
  • The design leans rustic (give or take a couple of Togo chairs), with moss green paneling, tartan upholstery, and wood beams running throughout.
    Elly Leavitt, Vogue, 12 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Watts said the child welfare agency also will maintain collaboration with public health officials, law enforcement and treatment providers to prevent tragedies connected to fentanyl and other drugs.
    Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Hope in Dave Canales, the second-year head coach whose optimism-springs-eternal approach has this team feeling connected.
    Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 7 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The idea of an independent misconduct authority has been kicked around by the industry since the Noel Clarke scandal four years ago, but its existence has become more pressing amid a string of power abuse crises involving the likes of MasterChef presenter Wallace and ITV chef Gino D’Acampo.
    Jake Kanter, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Peralta leaders had kicked around the idea for years but avoided discussing it in concrete terms, with bureaucratic tangles often getting in the way.
    Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 23 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Ruisz and Durkin hooked up again on a 51-yard TD pass midway through the second quarter as the Eagles built a 28-0 halftime lead on the way to avenging last season’s 42-27 loss to the Thunderbolts and giving Murphy a win in his debut as Sandburg’s head coach.
    Steve Millar, Chicago Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
  • For decades, scientists have chased a mystery about how proteins’ building blocks first hooked up with RNA, the molecule carrying life’s code.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Messed around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/messed%20around. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.

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