naughty
[naw-tee]
adjective, naugh·ti·er, naugh·ti·est.
disobedient; mischievous (used especially in speaking to or about children): Weren't we naughty not to eat our spinach?
improper, tasteless, indecorous, or indecent: a naughty word.
Obsolete. wicked; evil.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
- naucratis,
- naufragous,
- naugahyde,
- naugatuck,
- naught,
- naughty nineties,
- naughty step,
- naumachia,
- naumachy,
- naumannite
Origin of naughty
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for naughtily
naughty
adjective -tier or -tiest
noun plural -ties
Word Origin for naughty
C14 (originally: needy, of poor quality): from naught
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
naughty
late 14c., naugti "needy, having nothing," from Old English nawiht (see naught) + -y (2). Sense of "wicked, evil, morally wrong" is attested from 1520s; specific meaning "sexually promiscuous" is from 1869. The more tame main modern sense of "disobedient" (especially of children) is attested from 1630s. Related: Naughtily; naughtiness. A woman of bad character c.1530-1750 might be called a naughty pack (also sometimes of men and later of children).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper