nasty
adjective
physically filthy; disgustingly unclean.
nasty
1 American
[nas-tee]
/ ˈnæs ti /
adjective
-
nastier,
comparative
-
nastiest
superlative
-
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
-
nasties
plural
-nasty
2
American
nasty
1
British
/ ˈnɑːstɪ /
adjective
-
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
-nasty
2
British
combining form
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of nasty1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, further origin unknown
Origin of -nasty2
Explanation
Something nasty is filthy, foul, dirty, or awful. Nasty isn't a word for anything nice. The main meaning of nasty is for things that are unpleasant and very gross. If someone throws up in class, at least one student will probably say, "That's nasty!" The smell of a bathroom is nasty. A song full of dirty words is nasty in a different way. Nasty can also mean "extremely." In football, a vicious hit can be called a nasty hit. A mean person is a nasty person too.
Vocabulary lists containing nasty
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 7
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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More Negative Words to Describe a Person
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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.
See Examples For:
Then Scott had the inning of his Dodgers career in the eighth — sitting down the Braves’ 3-4-5 hitters with a nasty array of sliders and fastballs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
As for the surprises, nasty or otherwise, hire an independent specialist or fee-only financial planner to review any policy and compare it with self-insurance.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
This individual moment is a curiously nasty one, for sure.
From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2026
That way you don’t get a nasty surprise at the airport and have to scramble there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Cat couldn’t stand kids who had to be so nasty.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
He loves all disfigured nasties, be they swamp creatures, eyeball-less ogres or bolt-headed Hellboys.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2025
Our immune systems already do a fantastic job fighting viruses and other nasties.
From BBC ● Feb. 8, 2025
Think of what you step in outside: Shoes can carry all kinds of nasties, including pesticides and bacteria such as E. coli.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 15, 2024
AMR is a broad phenomenon, but simply describes when our tools defending against deadly microscopic nasties stop working.
From Salon ● Mar. 9, 2024
I looked around the band hall, sure that Rachel was going to make a bunch of bloodthirsty nasties pop out of the walls; but we were still alone.
From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan
Some could get nastier surprises if the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Watch as the fluid camerawork makes her kills look nastier, and the preposterous script allows her to outwit her foes, even with the cards stacked against her at every turn.
From Salon ● Mar. 29, 2026
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 ● Feb. 25, 2026
"H3 is always a hotter virus, it's a nastier virus, it's more impactful on the population," said Prof Lewis.
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2025
It came out nastier than I wanted it to.
From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan
This is Amis at his nastiest and best, skewering a world he knew intimately.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
He mowed through the Dodgers’ league-leading offense with triple-digit fastballs and upper-90s mph sliders, which Dodgers catcher Will Smith called the nastiest current pitch in the sport.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2025
He told called the question “nasty” and told the reporter, “don’t ever say what you said,” because “that’s a nasty question. To me, that’s the nastiest question.”
From Slate ● May 31, 2025
One of the largest, priciest and nastiest proxy contests in history will come to a head on Wednesday, when Disney is scheduled to virtually host its annual shareholder meeting.
From New York Times ● Apr. 3, 2024
Having worked in intelligence himself, he marveled at the thought of this “wispy, gentle, self-effacing woman knocking off, one by one, some of the nastiest pieces of business then existing.”
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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.
