cluttered

cluttered — adjective

1. Filled with too many objects placed in no clear order, so the place looks messy

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

Filled with too many objects placed in no clear order, so the place looks messy and is hard to use.

Example

Nkechi could barely find her glasses on the cluttered desk by the window.

before noun: cluttered + place noun

The kitchen counter was cluttered with old receipts, dirty mugs, and unopened mail.

pattern: cluttered with + noun

Common collocations
  • cluttered desk
  • cluttered room
  • cluttered kitchen
  • cluttered with papers
  • cluttered with stuff
Synonyms
  • messy

    broader; messy can be untidy without lots of objects, while cluttered always means too many objects

  • crammed

    stronger; crammed suggests packed full to the limit

  • disorganized

    focuses on lack of order; cluttered focuses on the visible pile of objects

Antonyms
  • tidy

    everything in its proper place

  • uncluttered

    clean and clear, with few objects on show

  • spartan

    deliberately bare, almost empty

Grammar Patterns

cluttered with + noun

Usage Note

Often follows the verb 'be' with the preposition 'with' to name what fills the space ('the desk was cluttered with papers'). Can also describe a person's mind or a screen ('a cluttered screen', 'a cluttered mind') by analogy with a messy room.

Common Mistakes

My desk is cluttered of papers.
My desk is cluttered with papers.
the preposition that follows 'cluttered' is 'with', never 'of'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four describe spaces that look bad, but each highlights a different problem. 'Cluttered' always means too many objects packed into one place — its image is a visible pile. 'Messy' is the broadest: it covers spilt food, scattered clothes, or general disorder, even when there are not many objects. 'Untidy' is gentler than 'messy' and focuses on things being out of place rather than dirty. 'Crammed' is the strongest of the four — it means packed in tightly, often beyond comfort, but does not always carry the disorderly feeling of 'cluttered'. So a small flat may be 'crammed' yet still 'tidy', and a child's room may be 'messy' without being 'cluttered'.

cluttered ↗messy ↗untidy ↗crammed

Common collocations

Nouns

  • cluttered desk
  • cluttered room
  • cluttered office
  • cluttered kitchen
  • cluttered screen
  • cluttered mind

Adverbs

  • heavily cluttered
  • slightly cluttered
  • visually cluttered

Prepositions

  • cluttered with

Etymology

Middle EnglishModern English

Past participle form of the verb 'clutter', used as an adjective. The verb 'clutter' first appeared in late Middle English as a variant of 'clotter', meaning to form clots or heaps. By the 16th century it carried the modern sense of crowding things together in a confused way. The adjective use became common in the 19th century alongside the rise of crowded urban homes filled with possessions.