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nasty

adjective
nas·​ty | \ ˈna-stē How to pronounce nasty (audio) \
nastier; nastiest

Definition of nasty

1a : disgustingly filthy nasty living conditions
b : physically repugnant a nasty taste
2 : indecent, obscene nasty language
3 : mean, tawdry living a cheap and nasty life— G. B. Shaw
4a : extremely hazardous (see hazardous sense 1) or harmful a nasty undertow
b : causing severe pain or suffering a nasty wound a nasty fall
c : sharply unpleasant : disagreeable nasty weather
5a : difficult to understand or deal with a nasty problem a nasty curveball
b : psychologically unsettling : trying a nasty fear that she was lost
6 : lacking in courtesy or sportsmanship a nasty trick
Other Words from nasty Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about nasty

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Other Words from nasty

nastily \ ˈna-​stə-​lē How to pronounce nastily (audio) \ adverb
nastiness \ ˈna-​stē-​nəs How to pronounce nastiness (audio) \ noun
nasty noun

Choose the Right Synonym for nasty

dirty, filthy, foul, nasty, squalid mean conspicuously unclean or impure. dirty emphasizes the presence of dirt more than an emotional reaction to it. a dirty littered street filthy carries a strong suggestion of offensiveness and typically of gradually accumulated dirt that begrimes and besmears. a stained greasy floor, utterly filthy foul implies extreme offensiveness and an accumulation of what is rotten or stinking. a foul-smelling open sewer nasty applies to what is actually foul or is repugnant to one expecting freshness, cleanliness, or sweetness. it's a nasty job to clean up after a sick cat In practice, nasty is often weakened to the point of being no more than a synonym of unpleasant or disagreeable. had a nasty fall his answer gave her a nasty shock squalid adds to the idea of dirtiness and filth that of slovenly neglect. squalid slums All these terms are also applicable to moral uncleanness or baseness or obscenity. dirty then stresses meanness or despicableness don't ask me to do your dirty work , while filthy and foul describe disgusting obscenity or loathsome behavior filthy street language a foul story of lust and greed , and nasty implies a peculiarly offensive unpleasantness. a stand-up comedian known for nasty humor Distinctively, squalid implies sordidness as well as baseness and dirtiness. engaged in a series of squalid affairs

Examples of nasty in a Sentence

She has a nasty habit of biting her fingernails. The medicine left a nasty taste in my mouth. That nasty old man yelled at me just for stepping on his lawn! He sent a nasty letter to the company. She's got quite a nasty temper. He said lots of downright nasty things about her. She called him a few nasty names and left.
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Recent Examples on the Web

 The Air Force commit is a physical, nasty presence on the left side of the Panthers’ offensive front and one of two three-year starting tackles coming back (Garrett Bishop is the other). — Matt Schubert, The Denver Post, "Colorado prep football: 40 impact players to watch in Class 5A," 28 Aug. 2019 There has to be an internal meanness, a nasty edge to go along with all that talent. — Joseph Goodman | Jgoodman@al.com, al, "What Alabama’s offense needs isn’t on paper," 27 Aug. 2019 Machine learning’s tightly scoped skills can also produce entertaining or nasty surprises. — Tom Simonite, WIRED, "Ask the Know-It-Alls: How Do Machines Learn?," 26 Aug. 2019 The implication being that a critical evaluation has to be inevitably nasty. — Harish C Menon, Quartz India, "By only praising the dead politician, you are being the worst kind of fake," 26 Aug. 2019 As far back as the 1950s, doctors in the United States started transplanting stool from healthy donors into patients with life-threatening diarrhea caused by infection with a nasty bacterium named C. difficile. — Linda Carroll, NBC News, "There were no guidelines for fecal transplants. Then, a patient died.," 25 Aug. 2019 Pomegranate Pustules Pomegranates are already nasty little clusters of damp holes. — Kiki O’keeffe Ysabel Yates, The New Yorker, "The All-Natural Ingredients in Our Disgusting Skin-Care Line," 22 Aug. 2019 Across the park, the Glade stage bubbled in touchable reef-like poofs while Dirtybird crew members Justin Martin and Claude VonStroke threw down nasty beats. — Kat Bein, Billboard, "Meow Wolf's Taos Vortex Festival Brought Community to the Forefront," 20 Aug. 2019 The tail which once gave Leinart's fastball nasty bite made his passes more difficult to catch, as left-handed throws look and spin differently out of the hand. — Sam Fortier, courant.com, "Why aren’t there any left-handed quarterbacks in the NFL?," 15 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'nasty.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of nasty

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

History and Etymology for nasty

Middle English

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More Definitions for nasty

nasty

adjective
How to pronounce nasty (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of nasty

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