Entry Word: nastiness

Function: noun

Meaning: 1 the desire to cause pain for the satisfaction of doing harm <there was a natural nastiness about him that was evident from the time he was a small child> — see malice
2 the quality or state of being obscene <the nastiness of the graffiti required that the school remove it immediately> — see obscenity 1
3 the state or quality of being dirty <the piles of rotting food in the kitchen contributed in a big way to the apartment's general nastiness> — see dirtiness 1