nasty
physically filthy; disgustingly unclean: a nasty pigsty of a room.
offensive to taste or smell; nauseating: This ointment is really nasty—couldn't they make it smell less vile?
offensive; objectionable: 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 cut;a nasty accident.
very unpleasant or disagreeable: nasty weather.
Slang. formidable: the raw, nasty power of this engine;a young pitcher with a nasty slider.
Informal. a nasty person or thing.
Origin of nasty
1Other words for nasty
Opposites for nasty
1 | clean, immaculate, spotless, unstained, unsoiled |
Other words from nasty
- nas·ti·ly, adverb
- nas·ti·ness, noun
Other definitions for -nasty (2 of 2)
a combining form with the meaning “nastic pressure,” of the kind or in the direction specified by the initial element: hyponasty.
Origin of -nasty
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use nasty in a sentence
There are growing concerns that a nasty second wave of infections could be a knockout blow for the economy.
As COVID spreads across Europe, a weary continent goes back into lockdown | David Meyer | November 7, 2020 | FortuneNow, it’s important to note that the silver trade is prone to nasty bumps.
The October markets rally shows no signs of cooling off | Bernhard Warner | October 9, 2020 | FortuneIts low-noise design means you won’t have to deal with annoying whirring sounds and the obstacle sensor helps avoid any nasty collisions.
Electronics and exercise gear that make excellent gifts | PopSci Commerce Team | October 8, 2020 | Popular-ScienceMultiple sock-puppet accounts are where you get some of the nastiest stuff on other platforms.
A new social-media platform wants to enforce “kindness.” Can that ever work? | Tanya Basu | October 7, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewFrom there, in most cases, clean water carries the nasty stuff out of the home through a system of pipes.
A dirty and growing problem: Too few toilets | Stephanie Parker | September 24, 2020 | Science News For Students
David Foster Wallace nastily imagined readers “under 40” asking about Updike, in a 1997 essay.
They rattled nastily as they struck corrugated-iron roofs, and popped when they found billets in the walls of nipa houses.
The Code of the Mountains | Charles Neville BuckThat lightning-like change swept his face again, twisting his lips nastily, stamping all his features with something totally bad.
Once to Every Man | Larry EvansThere are inventions of great value that one type of society can use—and that would, for another society, be most nastily deadly!
Thin Edge | Gordon Randall GarrettIf I do these things just after Jackson has passed I catch it nastily, just about the rear buffers.
The little Parsnip-man grinned so nastily at me, and such a loud noise came out of the stove—and I let him fall!
Miscellanea | Juliana Horatia Ewing
British Dictionary definitions for nasty (1 of 2)
/ (ˈnɑːstɪ) /
unpleasant, offensive, or repugnant
(of an experience, condition, etc) unpleasant, dangerous, or painful: a 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 thing: a video nasty
Origin of nasty
1Derived forms of nasty
- nastily, adverb
- nastiness, noun
British Dictionary definitions for -nasty (2 of 2)
indicating a nastic movement to a certain stimulus: nyctinasty
Origin of -nasty
2Derived forms of -nasty
- -nastic, adj combining form
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
Browse