mess around with

VERB

tamper

Synonyms

STRONGEST

meddle monkey with tinker

STRONG

busybody change cook cut damage destroy diversify doctor fool interlope interpose intrude irrigate manipulate plant spike vary water

WEAK

butt in fiddle with horn in monkey around muck about phony up poke nose into

Antonyms

STRONG

improve leave alone remain repair stay

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“We have an ironclad rule at IMAX, which is that our word is our word and we won’t mess around with that,” the CEO said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025

The part they don’t mess around with is an assurance that Gibson hasn’t been paid for her story.

From Salon • Feb. 7, 2025

But for the time being, I bought him a pocket synthesizer to mess around with.

From New York Times • Jun. 6, 2024

“Whether you agree with it or not,” he said, “I’m just gonna keep doing it because it works for me. It’s what’s kept me healthy, and I don’t ever want to mess around with that.”

From Seattle Times • Mar. 24, 2024

“Don’t even mess around with us like that.”

From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée

mess around with

Example Sentences

Related Words