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# messy

«messy» in Mova's school dictionary: **Untidy or dirty: «a messy room»** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (messy, messier, messiest)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Untidy or dirty: «a messy room». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/messy/#m1)

2) Making things dirty or untidy: «a messy job like painting». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/messy/#m2)

3) Complicated and unpleasant: «a messy argument». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/messy/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life: messy bedrooms, messy eating, messy play with paint and sand; tidying up is good manners and safety (things on the floor cause trips). In school, «messy handwriting» is hard to read. Phrases: «messy room», «messy hair», «messy play».

### examples

- My room is very messy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/messy/#x1)
- Painting is messy, so wear an apron. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/messy/#x2)
- Spaghetti is a messy food. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/messy/#x3)
- His handwriting is too messy to read. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/messy/#x4)
- The baby is a messy eater. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/messy/#x5)
- Toys on a messy floor can make people trip. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/messy/#x6)
- The end of their friendship was messy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/messy/#x7)
- He had carried Tinker Bell part of the way, and his hand was still messy with the fairy dust. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/messy/#x8)

### note

Comparatives: messier, messiest. Noun: mess. Opposite: tidy, neat. «Messy» about a situation means it is complicated, not dirty.

### In the corpora

- ["Your room looks like a bomb's hit it" is an exaggeration meaning the room is very messy.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/12-cars-chores-and-the-shopping-list/13/)
- [Your best protection is simple: keep your messy notes and drafts, because they show the work is yours.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/10-using-ai-to-learn-not-to-copy/7/)
- [People call a messy room a pigsty, but pigs are among the cleanest and cleverest animals on the farm.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/210-pigs-mud-snouts-and-brains/0/)
- ["It's complicated" means a relationship is messy or uncertain.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/18/)
- [Food in adverts is styled and photographed to look perfect; real food is usually smaller and messier.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/281-advert-tricks-and-too-good-offers/14/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «messy» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/messy/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.