nasty
adjective
physically filthy; disgustingly unclean.
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nasty
1 American
[nas-tee]
/ ˈnæs ti /
adjective
nastier,
nastiest
-
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
plural
nasties
-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
- -nastic combining form
- nastily adverb
- nastiness noun
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.
The idea is to find companies that can benefit from AI, but that don’t carry major risk of seeing a nasty stock price decline after earnings.
From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026
Whatever your path, grief is a time to get gritty, nasty, and as low as you dare go.
From Slate • Apr. 23, 2026
We were all just chilling, vibing, laughing, so she got up, went over to the decks, and started ripping a nasty drum-and-bass set.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026
Still, demand for golden AI shares is so strong that outside a nasty recession, the possible $1 trillion IPOs of OpenAI, Anthropic and SpaceX should proceed.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026
Brother Ugo’s lips stretched into a nasty smile, exposing pink gums and broken teeth.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
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.