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mess up
| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | cause physical pain; experience pain |
| Synonyms: | abuse, ache, afflict, ail, be sore, be tender, belt, bite, blemish, bruise, burn, cramp, cut, cut up, damage, disable, do violence, flail, flog, harm, impair, injure, kick, lacerate, lash, maltreat, mar, maul, mess up, nip, pierce, pinch, pommel, prick, pummel, punch, puncture, punish, rough up, shake up, slap, slug, smart, spank, spoil, squeeze, stab, sting, tear, throb, torment, torture, total, trouble, wax, whack, whip, wing, wound, wrack up, wring |
| Antonyms: | aid, assist, assuage, cure, heal, help, relieve, remedy, soothe |
| Main Entry: | litter |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make a mess |
| Synonyms: | clutter, confuse, derange, dirty, disarrange, disarray, disorder, jumble, mess up, scatter, strew |
| Antonyms: | clean up, tidy |
| Main Entry: | mar |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | hurt, damage |
| Synonyms: | bend, blemish, blight, blot, break, bruise, deface, deform, detract, ding, disfigure, foul up, harm, impair, injure, louse up, maim, mangle, mess up*, mutilate, queer*, rough up, ruin, scar, scratch, shake up, spoil, stain, sully, taint, tarnish, tweak, vitiate, warp, wreck |
| Antonyms: | aid, heal, help |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | miscalculate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make a mistake |
| Synonyms: | blow*, blunder, discount, disregard, drop the ball, err, get signals crossed, get wrong, go wrong, mess up*, misconstrue, miscount, misinterpret, misjudge, misread, misreckon, miss by a mile, misunderstand, mix up, overestimate, overlook, overrate, overvalue, slip up, stumble, underestimate, underrate, undervalue |
| Antonyms: | do correctly, figure correctly, succeed |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | mistreat |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | treat badly or wrongly |
| Synonyms: | abuse, backbite, bash, brutalize, bung up, chop, do wrong, dump on, give black eye, handle roughly, harm, injure, kick around, knock around, maltreat, maul, mess up, misuse, molest, outrage, push around, rip, rough up, roughhouse, shake up, total*, trash*, wax, wound, wrong |
| Antonyms: | coddle, favor, pamper, pet, please, satisfy, treat well |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | misuse |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | abuse; apply wrongly |
| Synonyms: | blow*, brutalize, corrupt, cut up, desecrate, dissipate, exploit, go through, handle roughly, ill-treat, maltreat, maul, mess up*, misapply, misemploy, mistreat, molest, outrage, pervert, profane, prostitute, run through, shake up, squander, waste, wrong |
| Notes: | abuse carries with it some sense of harm; misuse refers to an incorrect use that may not lead to harm to misuse is to use something wrongly, to abuse is to misuse something so badly that you damage it |
| Antonyms: | use correctly |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | mix up |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | confuse |
| Synonyms: | addle, befuddle, bewilder, confound, derange, disorder, disorganize, disrupt, distract, disturb, dizzy, fluster, foul up, jumble, mess up*, mistake, muddle, perplex, puzzle, snafu, upset |
| Antonyms: | clear up, explain, explicate |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | muff |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | bungle |
| Synonyms: | blunder, boggle, botch, choke*, drop the ball, err, flub, foul up, fumble, goof up, make a mess of, mess up, miscalculate, mishandle, mismanage, screw up, slip |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | muss |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | dishevel, disorder |
| Synonyms: | clutter, crumple, disarrange, disarray, disorganize, disrupt, disturb, jumble, mess up, mix up, muddle, ruffle, rummage, rumple, tangle, tousle, upset, wrinkle |
| Antonyms: | fix up, order, organize |
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
