Mess - English meaning

verb

Damage (someone's reputation).

Usage examples:

He had besmirched the good name of his family

verb

To say bad things about someone to influence other people's opinion of them

Usage examples:

His accusations were false, but they served to besmirch her reputation.

noun

Complete disorder and confusion.

Usage examples:

Snow caused chaos in the region

noun

A state of disorder and confusion

Usage examples:

Repairs to the major highway this summer will bring chaos to commuters., the house is a little chao…

noun

A state of total confusion with no order

Usage examples:

Snow and ice have caused chaos on the roads., ever since our secretary walked out, the office has b…

verb

Cover or fill (something) with an untidy collection of things.

Usage examples:

The room was cluttered with his bric-a-brac

noun

A collection of things lying about in an untidy state.

Usage examples:

The attic is full of clutter

noun

A condition of disorder, or a lot of objects that are in a state of disorder

Usage examples:

The basement work area is filled with creative clutter., the family room was cluttered with toys.

noun

A circumstance that complicates something; a difficulty.

Usage examples:

There is a complication concerning ownership of the site

noun

Something that makes a situation more difficult

Usage examples:

This complication had not been foreseen., he died from complications of diabetes.

noun

Something that makes a situation more difficult, or the act of doing this

Usage examples:

Dave couldn't find his passport at the airport and then there were further complications when fiona…

noun

Uncertainty about what is happening, intended, or required.

Usage examples:

There seems to be some confusion about which system does what

noun

A lack of understanding, or a state of disorder

Usage examples:

[ c ] she writes about the confusions of her life., [ u ] in the confusion, i lost my wallet.

noun

A situation in which people do not understand what is happening, what they should do or who someone or something is

Usage examples:

There seems to be some confusion over who is actually giving the talk., to avoid confusion, the twi…

noun

The state or condition of being difficult.

Usage examples:

Guy had no difficulty in making friends

noun

The fact of not being easy, or of being hard to do or understand

Usage examples:

[ u ] he has some difficulty hearing people when they speak softly., [ c usually pl ] in 1986 he ex…

noun

The fact of not being easy to do or understand

Usage examples:

With difficulty we finished the job, but only with great difficulty., difficulty of the difficulty …

noun

A situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, especially ones that are equally undesirable.

Usage examples:

He wants to make money, but he also disapproves of it: den's dilemma in a nutshell

State of uncertainty in a choice between unfavorable options

noun

A situation in which a choice has to be made between possibilities that will all have results you do not want

Usage examples:

The dilemma was over how to protect a charming little island and at the same time allow economic de…

adjective

Covered or marked with an unclean substance.

Usage examples:

A tray of dirty cups and saucers

adverb

Used for emphasis.

Usage examples:

A dirty great slab of stone

verb

Make dirty.

Usage examples:

She didn't like him dirtying her nice clean towels

verb

Make untidy or disordered.

Usage examples:

Had any of the statues been removed or disarranged?

verb

To make something untidy

noun

A state of disorganization or untidiness.

Usage examples:

Her grey hair was in disarray

verb

Throw into a state of disorganization or untidiness.

Usage examples:

The inspection disarrayed the usual schedule

noun

A messy or confused condition, showing a lack of organization

Usage examples:

Many party members believe the campaign is in disarray., the apartment was in complete disarray.

noun

A state of confusion.

Usage examples:

The world 's currency markets were in disorder

verb

Disrupt the systematic functioning or neat arrangement of.

Usage examples:

They are disordering the political landscape

noun

A state in which objects or conditions are in no particular order; lack of system or planned organization

Usage examples:

The room was in such disorder that she couldn’t find anything., [ c ] a mental/physical disorder, […

noun

Lack of proper planning and control.

Usage examples:

Social disorganization is destroying the wellbeing of the population

noun

The quality of being badly planned and without order

Usage examples:

Your own country is in a state of complete disorganization., there was total disorganization in the…

noun

A lack of ability to plan or organize things well

Usage examples:

The top requests are for help with chronic disorganization., his experience has left him in a state…

noun

A serious, unexpected, and often dangerous situation requiring immediate action.

Usage examples:

Personal alarms for use in an emergency

noun

A dangerous or serious situation, such as an accident, that happens suddenly or unexpectedly and needs immediate action

Usage examples:

In an emergency, dial 911 for an ambulance.

noun

A dangerous or serious situation that happens unexpectedly and needs fast action in order to avoid harmful results

Usage examples:

Aim to build up risk-free savings in case of emergency., the governor declared a state of emergency…

noun

The action or fact of entangling or being entangled.

Usage examples:

Many dolphins die from entanglement in fishing nets

noun

The condition of being wrapped and twisted together in a mass

Usage examples:

Entanglements of cables and wires, a legal entanglement

noun

A situation or relationship that you are involved in and that is difficult to escape from

Usage examples:

The book describes the complex emotional and sexual entanglements between the members of the group.

verb

Fasten (something) securely in a particular place or position.

Usage examples:

They had candles fixed to their helmets

noun

A difficult or awkward situation from which it is hard to extricate oneself; a predicament.

Usage examples:

How on earth did you get into such a fix?

verb

Restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken

noun

A sudden intense feeling of fear.

Usage examples:

I jumped up in fright

verb

Frighten.

Usage examples:

Come, be comforted, he shan't fright you

noun

The feeling of fear, esp. if felt suddenly, or an experience of fear which happens suddenly

Usage examples:

[ u ] when the rescue team reached him, he was shaking with fright., [ c usually sing ] you gave he…

noun

An untidy collection of objects placed haphazardly on top of each other.

Usage examples:

A heap of cardboard boxes

adverb

A great deal.

Usage examples:

‘how do you like maggie?’ ‘i like you heaps better!’

verb

Put (objects or a loose substance) in a heap.

Usage examples:

She heaped logs on the fire

noun

An extremely confused, complicated, or embarrassing situation.

Usage examples:

The abdication imbroglio of 1936

noun

An unwanted, difficult, and confusing situation, full of trouble and problems

Usage examples:

The soviet union became anxious to withdraw its soldiers from the afghan imbroglio.

verb

Squeeze or pack tightly into a specified space.

Usage examples:

Four of us were jammed in one compartment

noun

An instance of a thing seizing or becoming stuck.

Usage examples:

Paper jams

verb

A sweet spread or conserve made from fruit and sugar boiled to a thick consistency.

Usage examples:

Strawberry jam

noun

An untidy collection or pile of things.

Usage examples:

The books were in a chaotic jumble

verb

Mix up in a confused or untidy way.

Usage examples:

A drawer full of letters jumbled together

noun

A confused mixture or mass of things

Usage examples:

A jumble of papers on the desk, the events of the last few weeks are all jumbled up in my mind.

noun

Rubbish such as paper, cans, and bottles left lying in an open or public place.

Usage examples:

Always clear up after a picnic and never drop litter

verb

Make (a place or area) untidy with rubbish or a large number of objects left lying about.

Usage examples:

Clothes and newspapers littered the floor

noun

Pieces of paper and other small objects that have been thrown out and are left on the ground in public places

Usage examples:

The park was littered with bottles and soda cans after the concert.

noun

A stretch of swampy or boggy ground.

Usage examples:

Acres of land had been reduced to a mire

verb

Cause to become stuck in mud.

Usage examples:

Sometimes a heavy truck gets mired down

noun

An area of deep, wet, sticky earth, or fig. any messy situation

Usage examples:

The cart’s wheels sank in the red mire., fig. at the time the country was mired in the great depres…

noun

A confused mixture.

Usage examples:

A mishmash of outmoded ideas

noun

A badly organized mixture

Usage examples:

The movie is a mishmash of past and present.

idiom

Assemble without order or sense

phrasal verb

Spoil the order or arrangement of a collection of things.

Usage examples:

The papers got mixed up when they slid off her lap

phrasal verb

Confuse someone or something with another person or thing.

Usage examples:

I'd got her mixed up with her sister

noun

Dirt, rubbish, or waste matter.

Usage examples:

I'll just clean the muck off the windscreen

verb

Spread manure on (land).

Usage examples:

Half the farm is mucked every year

noun

Wet, sticky dirt

Usage examples:

It was hard to walk in the muck.

verb

Bring into a disordered or confusing state.

Usage examples:

I fear he may have muddled the message

noun

An untidy and disorganized state or collection.

Usage examples:

The finances were in a muddle

noun

A messy and confused state

Usage examples:

Her life was in a muddle.

verb

Make (someone's hair or clothes) untidy or messy.

Usage examples:

The wind was mussing up his hair

noun

A state of disorder.

Usage examples:

No fuss, no muss—nothing left behind except a few little specks of dust

verb

To make messy

Usage examples:

Don’t muss my hair (up) – i just had it styled.

noun

A relish consisting of vegetables or fruit preserved in vinegar or brine.

Usage examples:

Cheese and pickle

verb

Preserve (food or other perishable items) in vinegar or brine.

Usage examples:

Fish pickled in brine

noun

A cucumber (= a green, tube-shaped vegetable) that has been preserved in a liquid containing salt and other spices or vinegar

Usage examples:

A sweet/dill pickle, pickled tomatoes/herring

noun

A dangerous, difficult, or otherwise unfortunate situation.

Usage examples:

We must direct our efforts towards relieving the plight of children living in poverty

verb

Pledge or solemnly promise (one's faith or loyalty).

Usage examples:

Men to plighted vows were faithful

noun

An unpleasant condition, esp. a serious, sad, or difficult one

Usage examples:

My problems aren’t much compared with the plight of the storm victims.

verb

Contaminate (water, the air, etc.) with harmful or poisonous substances.

Usage examples:

The explosion polluted the town with dioxin

Contaminate; make impure

verb

To make air, water, or earth dirty or harmful to people, animals, and plants, esp. by adding harmful chemicals or waste

Usage examples:

Chemical fertilizers and pesticides are polluting the groundwater., maybe there’s some kind of chem…

noun

A difficult, unpleasant, or embarrassing situation.

Usage examples:

The club's financial predicament

noun

An unpleasant or confusing situation that is difficult to get out of or solve

Usage examples:

With no money and no job, he found himself in a real predicament.

noun

A matter or situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with and overcome.

Usage examples:

They have financial problems

adjective

Denoting or relating to people whose behaviour causes difficulties to themselves and others.

Usage examples:

Practitioners help families develop strategies for managing problem behaviour in teens

noun

Something that causes difficulty or that is hard to deal with

Usage examples:

Financing the camp’s athletic program is a problem., he has a serious health problem., i’m having p…

noun

A state of perplexity or uncertainty over what to do in a difficult situation.

Usage examples:

Kate was in a quandary

noun

A state of not being able to decide what to do about a situation in which you are involved

Usage examples:

I’ve had two job offers, and i’m in a real quandary about/over which one to accept.

verb

Give a creased, ruffled, or dishevelled appearance to.

Usage examples:

The girl rumpled his thin streaky hair

noun

An untidy state.

Usage examples:

She left her clothes in a rumple on the floor

verb

(of a person) move with a slow, shuffling, awkward gait.

Usage examples:

He shambled off down the corridor

plural noun

A state of total disorder.

Usage examples:

My career was in a shambles

plural noun

A butcher's slaughterhouse (archaic except in place names).

Usage examples:

The shambles where the animals were slaughtered

noun

The faculty or power of seeing.

Usage examples:

Joseph lost his sight as a baby

verb

Manage to see or observe (someone or something); catch an initial glimpse of.

Usage examples:

Tell me when you sight london bridge

noun

The ability to see, or the act of seeing something

Usage examples:

Machines don’t have a sense of sight., the sight of sick children disturbs her., i know david by si…

noun

A dish of meat and vegetables cooked slowly in liquid in a closed dish or pan.

Usage examples:

Lamb stew

verb

(with reference to meat, fruit, or other food) cook or be cooked slowly in liquid in a closed dish or pan.

Usage examples:

Beef stewed in wine

noun

A pond or large tank for keeping fish for eating.

Usage examples:

On one of my local stew ponds there is an attitude that if it's not into double figures it ain't wo…

noun

A narrow passage of water connecting two seas or two other large areas of water.

Usage examples:

The straits of gibraltar

adjective

(of a place) of limited spatial capacity; narrow or cramped.

Usage examples:

The road was so strait that a handful of men might have defended it

noun

A narrow area of water that connects two larger areas of water

Usage examples:

The strait lies between the atlantic ocean and the mediterranean sea.

verb

Twist together into a confused mass.

Usage examples:

The broom somehow got tangled up in my long skirt

noun

A confused mass of something twisted together.

Usage examples:

A tangle of golden hair

noun

Any of a number of brown seaweeds, especially oarweed.

Usage examples:

An entirely natural extract, it is based on seaweed or tangle, widely available around scotland's s…

noun

The pointed or rounded end or extremity of something slender or tapering.

Usage examples:

George pressed the tips of his fingers together

verb

Attach to or cover the end or extremity of.

Usage examples:

The peaks of the mountains were tipped with snow

noun

A place where rubbish is left.

Usage examples:

A rubbish tip

noun

Difficulty or problems.

Usage examples:

I had trouble finding somewhere to park

verb

Cause distress or anxiety to.

Usage examples:

He was not troubled by doubts

noun

A problem, or difficulties

Usage examples:

[ u ] trouble began when he came to live with us., [ c ] she thought her troubles would be over whe…

verb

Fall suddenly, clumsily, or headlong.

Usage examples:

She pitched forward, tumbling down the remaining stairs

noun

A sudden or headlong fall.

Usage examples:

I took a tumble in the nettles

verb

Fall down, as if collapsing

noun

A state of great disturbance, confusion, or uncertainty.

Usage examples:

The country was in turmoil

noun

A state of extreme confusion, uncertainty, or lack of order

Usage examples:

Her mind was in turmoil., she grew up in the turmoil of the 1960s.

noun

The quality or state of being untidy

Usage examples:

They're very tolerant about mess in the home and untidiness generally., the sofas are soft and cosy…