mixed message
mixed message noun: any communication that is contradictory, inconsistent, or unclear, especially in its motive or intent; incongruence between somebody's actions and words.
Noun
mixed message (plural mixed messages)
- Any communication that is contradictory, inconsistent, or unclear, especially in its motive or intent; incongruence between somebody's actions and words.
- Don't you think it's sending a mixed message for the magazine to put "Lose Five Pounds in A Month" right next to "Ten Easy Desserts"?
- Of late, many who are wary of the vaccine say they have become more confused by what they see as mixed messages from federal health agencies and the White House.2021 October 11, Jan Hoffman, “Boosters Are Complicating Efforts to Persuade the Unvaccinated to Get Shots”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Forms of mixed message
| plural | mixed messages |
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Questions about mixed message
- What does mixed message mean?
- Mixed message means any communication that is contradictory, inconsistent, or unclear, especially in its motive or intent; incongruence between somebody's actions and words.
- What part of speech is mixed message?
- Mixed message is a noun.
- What is the plural of mixed message?
- The plural of mixed message is mixed messages.
Words near mixed message in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: mixed message (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-mixed message.ogg.
Cite this entry: “mixed message.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/mixed_message. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.