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:
Momentum investing has paid huge dividends over time, and it is strongly endorsed by academic research, but the returns can be lumpy — you will occasionally get a very nasty spell of underperformance.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Instead of going home that night, Wilber found himself back in bed 23 of the detention center — his bond denied — trying to ignore a nasty odor permeating his 14-person cell.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
So higher input costs create a nasty problem: Either losses will be even bigger, or higher prices will be needed, putting off potential customers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
Archer's blow to Tickner was nasty, with the consequences revealed later, then last man Ben Sears was lbw.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
“Or you, miss. I received it nearly a year ago, in some rather nasty business.”
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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
"Reserves and efficiency offer some buffer which the episodes in the 1970s lacked, but the raw scale of lost supply makes this nastier, with no fast fix in sight."
From BBC ● Mar. 30, 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
His book shows how all the 1980s-era “official English” measures were basically test balloons for the nastier legislation that followed, I noted.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2025
And Polly gave him a pretty sharp answer and he said something even nastier in reply.
From "The Magician's Nephew" by C. S. Lewis
That gets my vote for the single nastiest opinion of 2025.
From Slate ● Jan. 3, 2026
A coming together of these tendencies has given rise to the nastiest surprise of his global policy—his ill treatment of India.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025
He and his young son, who is Black, were the subjects of some of the nastiest attacks on the leaked audio.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2024
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
Believing he was cheated out of the presidency, Jackson immediately began to campaign against Adams and easily defeated him in 1828 in one of the nastiest presidential races ever.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
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.
