nasty

[nas-tee]

adjective, nas·ti·er, nas·ti·est.

physically filthy; disgustingly unclean: a nasty pigsty of a room.

offensive to taste or smell; nauseating.

offensive; objectionable: a nasty habit.

vicious, spiteful, or ugly: a nasty dog; a nasty rumor.

bad or hard to deal with, encounter, undergo, etc.; dangerous; serious: a nasty cut; a nasty accident.

very unpleasant or disagreeable: nasty weather.

morally filthy; obscene; indecent: a nasty word.

Slang. formidable: The young pitcher has a good fast ball and a nasty curve.

noun, plural nas·ties.

Informal. a nasty person or thing.

Origin of nasty

1350–1400; Middle English < ?

Related formsnas·ti·ly, adverbnas·ti·ness, noun

Synonyms for nasty

1. dirty, foul, loathsome. 2. sickening, repulsive, repellent. 6 stormy, inclement. 7. smutty, pornographic.

Antonyms for nasty

1. clean, pure.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for nastier

tough, murderous, vile, noxious, vulgar, ornery, outrageous, awful, unpleasant, icky, dirty, horrible, fierce, rough, obnoxious, ribald, unseemly, wicked, distasteful, unkind

Examples from the Web for nastier

Contemporary Examples of nastier

When she tried to stand up to me, I became irritated, and nastier.
My Strange Passage From Suspected School Shooter to Prom Queen
Gina Tron
January 28, 2013
With the embellishment stripped bare, the diaries present a nastier, more easily irritated side of the man.
Orwell’s Lies: His Diaries Reveal Problems with the Truth
Jimmy So
August 19, 2012
On X Factor, it is not only that the judges are nastier to each other than competition judges have ever been (they are).
Why 'X Factor' Trounces 'American Idol'
Richard Rushfield
December 1, 2011

Historical Examples of nastier

If Kingsville is cheap and nasty, Weldon is dear and nastier.
Four Years in Rebel Capitals
T. C. DeLeon
She was nastier than I thought she could be, but I'm behaving like an angel.
The Spoils of Poynton
Henry James
It was much better for you not to annoy her further; she might have been nastier to me than even she has been.
Beyond The Rocks
Elinor Glyn
She was mad about the money, and nobody could have been nastier than she might have turned out but for me.
The Rebel of the School
Mrs. L. T. Meade
"I should think they'd use their wings to get out—a nastier looking lot of mountains I never saw," was Ben's reply.
The Boy Aviators in Africa
Wilbur Lawton

British Dictionary definitions for nastier

nasty

adjective -tier or -tiest

unpleasant, offensive, or repugnant

(of an experience, condition, etc) unpleasant, dangerous, or painfula nasty wound

spiteful, abusive, or ill-natured

obscene or indecent

nasty piece of work British informal a cruel or mean person

noun plural -ties

an offensive or unpleasant person or thinga video nasty

Derived Formsnastily, adverbnastiness, noun

Word Origin for nasty

C14: origin obscure; probably related to Swedish dialect nasket and Dutch nestig dirty

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for nastier

nasty

adj.

c.1400, "foul, filthy, dirty, unclean," of unknown origin; perhaps [Barnhart] from Old French nastre "miserly, envious, malicious, spiteful," shortened form of villenastre "infamous, bad," from vilein "villain" + -astre, pejorative suffix, from Latin -aster.

Alternative etymology [OED] is from Dutch nestig "dirty," literally "like a bird's nest." Likely reinforced in either case by a Scandinavian source (cf. Swedish dialectal naskug "dirty, nasty"), which also might be the source of the Middle English word. Of weather, from 1630s; of things generally, "unpleasant, offensive," from 1705. Of people, "ill-tempered," from 1825. Noun meaning "something nasty" is from 1935. Related: Nastily; nastiness.