nasty
1 Americanadjective
-
physically filthy; disgustingly unclean.
a nasty pigsty of a room.
- Antonyms:
- unstained, spotless, immaculate, clean
-
offensive to taste or smell; nauseating.
This ointment is really nasty—couldn't they make it smell less vile?
-
a nasty habit.
-
vicious, spiteful, or unkind.
a nasty dog;
a nasty rumor.
-
bad or hard to deal with, encounter, undergo, etc.; dangerous; serious: a nasty accident.
a nasty cut;
a nasty accident.
-
very unpleasant or disagreeable.
nasty weather.
-
morally filthy; obscene; indecent.
a nasty word.
- Synonyms:
- smutty
-
Slang. formidable: a young pitcher with a nasty slider.
the raw, nasty power of this engine;
a young pitcher with a nasty slider.
noun
plural
nastiesadjective
-
unpleasant, offensive, or repugnant
-
(of an experience, condition, etc) unpleasant, dangerous, or painful
a nasty wound
-
spiteful, abusive, or ill-natured
-
obscene or indecent
-
informal a cruel or mean person
noun
combining form
Other Word Forms
- -nastic combining form
- nastily adverb
- nastiness noun
Etymology
Origin of nasty1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, further origin unknown
Origin of -nasty2
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.
"It can be good bits, and then it can be awful bits and aggressive bits and upsetting bits. And that's just what the Tourette's does. It's nasty."
From BBC
After sets from intergenerational jam bands and folk-rock legends, the newest resident at Las Vegas’ Sphere will be a little louder and nastier than usual.
From Los Angeles Times
Then all at once it didn’t taste so nasty any more.
From Literature
The nasty remark about the hat is just the opening salvo.
From Los Angeles Times
Magistrate Mark Nieman told Taylor he was "a man who can be charming and pleasant, but you can be nasty and violent".
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
