to muss

Examples

• All

• The wind hisses through the trees, mussing Paul's hair.

  Fiction book (2002)

• It's gonna muss my hair.

  The Paperboy (2012)

• So, first we're gonna muss the hair.

  Over the Hedge (2006)

• Wanna give up, pretty boy, before I muss your hair?

  Valentino (1977)

• Are you afraid of mussing your hair?

  Easy Come, Easy Go (1967)

• Don't muss my hair!

  A Damsel in Distress (1937)

• You'll be moving again soon, honey, so it doesn't really matter if you miss school," he said, and mussed her mousy-brown hair.

  Fiction book (1995)

• Mr. Arnette drags into the kitchen, his hair mussed and his robe worn.

  Fiction book (1994)

• Then Charles, bent-shouldered, hair mussed, rubbing his hands with a greasy rag, would appear at the doorway.

  Fiction book (2001)

• The children began to muss their hair while playing in the wind.

Synonyms

M

to mess

vsto muss

248 1.0

To make something untidy or dirty

is the broad verb for causing untidiness without extra specifics

M

to mess up

vsto muss

• Informal

52 3.0

To make something untidy, dirty, or not in the right place

focuses on the basic idea of creating untidiness without emphasizing disturbance

M

to muddy

vsto muss

5 1.9

Make something dirty with mud or sediment

is about general untidiness rather than wet or dirty effects

M

to muck

vsto muss

3 3.5

To make something dirty with mud

refers to untidiness broadly, not specifically to dirt or mud

C

to create a mess

vsto muss

1 2.1

Make a place messy so things are not in order

is the general act of making things untidy rather than a single example

M

to muddy up

vsto muss

1 3.5

To make something dirty with wet dirt, for example shoes or floors

is the broader untidiness action, not limited to mud covering

F

to fuffle

vsto muss

• Informal

9.9

To make hair, clothes, or papers untidy by moving them

covers untidiness in general rather than only light disarrangement of items

M

to muck up

vsto muss

• Informal

6.7

To make something dirty with mud or dirt

is more general, applying to untidiness beyond dirty or muddy cases

Antonyms

O

to organize

• US

662 1.6

Arrange people, things, and activities so they work well

T

to tidy

42 1.0

To make a place neat by putting things away

How Messy

to ruin

∞ 2.0

to mess up

• Informal

52 3.0

to muss

6 7.9

to rumple

6 5.4

to ruffle

7 4.2

Surface Forms

Etymology