is it possible to define what message to be returned from a custom validator?

in my code, i have to do between 5 and 10 various checks on a field before its considered valid. is it possible to have in my isvalid routine a way where if a particular check in a series fails it can change the error message to indicate exactly what check failed? i tried to override the message method but that didn't work, it simply returned the default message every time.

my next step is to write a validator for each of the checks, but it would be nice if i can roll them up into one.

Which version of Hibernate Validator are you talking about. It is possible with the latest version 4.x of Validator which is based on Bean Validation.
There you get passed a so called ConstraintValidatorContext into ConstraintValidator.isValid. ConstraintValidatorContext has several methods to customize your error messages. Amongst it the possibility to add several error messages.

I recommend you have a look at this version of Hibernate Validator and also the JSR 303 (Bean Validation) specification.

--Hardy