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nasty

[ nas-tee ]
/ ˈnæs ti /
||

adjective, nas·ti·er, nas·ti·est.

noun, plural nas·ties.

Informal. a nasty person or thing.

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Nearby words

  1. nast, thomas,
  2. nastase,
  3. nastic,
  4. nastic movement,
  5. nasturtium,
  6. nasus,
  7. nasute,
  8. nat,
  9. nat.,
  10. natal

Origin of nasty

1350–1400; Middle English < ?
ANTONYMS FOR nasty
1. clean, pure.
Related formsnas·ti·ly, adverbnas·ti·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for nastily

British Dictionary definitions for nastily

nasty

/ (ˈnɑːstɪ) /

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 nastily

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper