nasty
- 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.
- Informal. a nasty person or thing.
Origin of nasty
Synonyms
Antonyms
Related Words
toughmurderousvilenoxiousvulgarorneryoutrageousawfulunpleasantickydirtyhorriblefierceroughobnoxiousribaldunseemlywickeddistastefulunkindExamples from the Web for nastier
Contemporary Examples
When she tried to stand up to me, I became irritated, and nastier.
With the embellishment stripped bare, the diaries present a nastier, more easily irritated side of the man.
On X Factor, it is not only that the judges are nastier to each other than competition judges have ever been (they are).
Historical Examples
If Kingsville is cheap and nasty, Weldon is dear and nastier.
Four Years in Rebel CapitalsT. C. DeLeon
She was nastier than I thought she could be, but I'm behaving like an angel.
The Spoils of PoyntonHenry 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 RocksElinor 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 SchoolMrs. 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 AfricaWilbur Lawton
nasty
- 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
- an offensive or unpleasant person or thinga video nasty
Word Origin
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.