nasty

nasty

adjective

Definition of NASTY

1

arousing or deserving of one's loathing and disgust <fortunately, the story's nasty characters are balanced by some truly good people>

Synonyms cheap, cruddy, deplorable, despicable, dirty, grubby, lame, lousy, mean, nasty, paltry, pitiable, pitiful, ratty, scabby, scummy, scurvy, sneaking, sorry, wretched

Related Words abhorrent, abominable, condemnable, detestable, execrable, hateful, loathsome, odious; disgusting, reptilian, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, revulsive; discreditable, disgraceful, dishonorable, disreputable, ignominious, shameful; base, ignoble, low, shabby, sordid, squalid, vile; blamable, censurable, reprehensible, reproachable; cowardly, craven, dastardly; unethical, unprincipled, unscrupulous

Near Antonyms high-minded, honest, honorable, noble, principled, redoubtable, reputable, right-minded, scrupulous, upright; ethical, good, moral, right, righteous, virtuous

Antonyms admirable, commendable, creditable, laudable, meritorious, praiseworthy

2

causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment <a nasty video game that was so violent that I could hardly watch the opening scenes>

Synonyms abhorrent, abominable, appalling, awful, disgusting, distasteful, dreadful, evil, foul, fulsome, gross, hideous, horrendous, horrible, horrid, loathsome, nasty, nauseating, nauseous, noisome, noxious, obnoxious, obscene, odious, rancid, repellent (also repellant), repugnant, repulsive, revolting, scandalous, shocking, sickening, ugly

Related Words exceptionable, objectionable; brackish, disagreeable, dislikable (also dislikeable), unpleasant; contemptible, despicable, detestable, hard, hateful; unhealthy, unsavory, unwholesome; execrable, lousy, miserable; atrocious, frightful, ghastly, grim, grisly, gruesome (also grewsome), heinous, horrendous, horrific, horrifying, lurid, macabre, monstrous, nightmarish, shocking, sick, sickish, sickly, terrible, unspeakable, vile; off-putting, undesirable, unwanted, unwelcome; barbarous, unchristian, uncivilized, ungodly, unholy; distressing, disturbing, upsetting

Near Antonyms acceptable, agreeable, alluring, appealing, attractive, blessed (also blest), congenial, darling, delectable, delicious, delightful, delightsome, desirable, dreamy, dulcet, enjoyable, felicitous, gratifying, heavenly, inviting, likable (or likeable), luscious, nice, palatable, pleasant, pleasing, pleasurable, satisfying, savory (also savoury), sweet, welcome; unexceptionable, unobjectionable; healthful, healthy, restorative, salubrious, salutary, wholesome

Antonyms innocuous, inoffensive

3

causing or feeling bodily pain <a nasty cut on my lip>

Synonyms aching, achy, afflictive, hurting, nasty, sore

Related Words agonizing, excruciating, torturous; damaging, deleterious, detrimental, harmful, hurtful, injurious, noxious, pernicious; raw, tender; bleeding, burning, chafing, cramping, festering; itching, nagging, pinching, pricking, prickling, smarting, stinging; inflamed (also enflamed), swollen; grievous, severe, threatening, wounding

Near Antonyms curative, healing, helping, remedial

Antonyms indolent, painless

4

depicting or referring to sexual matters in a way that is unacceptable in polite society <nasty magazines that are not sold to minors>

Synonyms bawdy, blue, coarse, crude, dirty, filthy, foul, gross, gutter, impure, indecent, lascivious, lewd, locker-room, nasty, pornographic, porny, profane, raunchy, ribald, smutty, stag, trashy, unprintable, vulgar, wanton, X-rated

Related Words broad, coarse-grained, gamy (or gamey), off, off-color (or off-colored), racy, risqué, salacious, salty, suggestive; barnyard, earthy, scatological; immodest, indecorous, indelicate, low, unbecoming; depraved, kinky, louche, naughty, perverse, perverted, wicked; exceptionable, objectionable, unacceptable, undesirable, unwanted, unwelcome; abhorrent, debasing, disgusting, loathsome, offensive, repellent (also repellant), repugnant, repulsive, revolting; distasteful, obnoxious, unpleasant; blamable, blameworthy, censurable, reprehensible; atrocious, infamous; abusive, scurrilous; hard-core, soft, soft-core

Near Antonyms priggish, prim, prudish, puritanical, staid, straitlaced (or straightlaced), Victorian; correct, decorous, genteel, nice, polite, proper, respectable, seemly; innocuous, inoffensive; acceptable, agreeable, desirable, pleasant, pleasing, welcome; appropriate, becoming, fit, meet, suitable; immaculate, perfect, pure, spotless, virginal; approved, endorsed (also indorsed), sanctioned

Antonyms clean, decent, G-rated, nonobscene, wholesome

5

having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it <made nasty comments about how ugly she was>

Synonyms bad [slang], bitchy, catty, cruel, despiteful, malevolent, malicious, malign, malignant, mean, nasty, spiteful, vicious, virulent

Related Words devious, scoundrelly, scurvy, snakelike; acrimonious, bitter, envious, jaundiced, jealous, rancorous, resentful, vindictive, vitriolic; contemptuous, deprecating, derogatory, disdainful, disparaging, mean-spirited, obnoxious, opprobrious, scornful, snide, snotty, unkind, unkindly, unloving; baleful, baneful, evil; harsh, hostile, inimical; acrid, caustic, poisonous, scathing, venomous

Near Antonyms compassionate, good, good-hearted, kind, kindhearted, kindly, sympathetic, warm, warmhearted; affable, agreeable, amiable, cordial, friendly, genial, gracious, nice, pleasant; affectionate, amorous, sweet, tender, tenderhearted; humane; altruistic, high-minded, humanitarian, magnanimous, noble, philanthropic (also philanthropical)

Antonyms benevolent, benign, benignant, loving, unmalicious

6

marked by wet and windy conditions <bring your raincoat, as the weather's supposed to be nasty>

Synonyms bleak, dirty, inclement, nasty, raw, rough, squally, stormy, tempestuous, turbulent

Related Words blowy, blustering, blustery, breezy, gusty, windblown, windswept; cloudy, overcast, sunless; rainy, snowy; foggy, hazy, misty, murky, soupy

Near Antonyms rainless; balmy, calm, halcyon, peaceful, placid, pleasant, serene

Antonyms bright, clear, clement, cloudless, fair, sunny, sunshiny, unclouded

7

not clean <it's incredibly nasty inside that garbage bin, so stay away from there>

Synonyms bedraggled, befouled, begrimed, bemired, besmirched, black, blackened, cruddy, dingy, draggled, dusty, filthy, foul, grimy, grotty [chiefly British], grubby, grungy, mucky, muddy, nasty, smudged, smutty, soiled, sordid, stained, sullied, unclean, uncleanly

Related Words contaminated, defiled, germy, impure, polluted, tainted; insanitary, uncleaned, unsanitary, unsterile, unsterilized, unwashed; greasy, gunky; chaotic, cluttered, confused, disarranged, disarrayed, disheveled (or dishevelled), disordered, jumbled, littered, messed, messy, muddled, mussed, mussy, rumpled, scruffy, sloppy, slovenly, unkempt, untidy; raunchy, scuzzy [slang], shabby, skanky [slang], sleazy, squalid; collied [chiefly British dialect], crocked [dialect], fuliginous, sooty

Near Antonyms clear, limpid, pure; cleaned, cleansed, combed, groomed, neat, ordered, orderly, tidy; bleached, purified, whitened; bright, flawless, perfect, shiny, sparkling, unspotted, untouched; taintless, unblemished, undefiled, unpolluted, untainted, virgin, wholesome

Antonyms clean, cleanly, immaculate, spick-and-span (or spic-and-span), spotless, stainless, ultraclean, unsoiled, unstained, unsullied

8

not giving pleasure to the mind or senses <the smell of those old leftovers is downright nasty>

Synonyms bad, bitter, disagreeable, displeasing, distasteful, harsh, icky, nasty, rotten, sour, uncongenial, unlovely, unpalatable, unpleasing, unsavory, unwelcome, wicked, yucky (also yukky)

Related Words abhorrent, abominable, appalling, awful, beastly, bilious, disgusting, dreadful, foul, ghastly, gnarly [slang], god-awful, gross, hateful, hellish, hideous, horrendous, horrible, horrid, invidious, loathsome, nauseating, nauseous, noisome, obnoxious, obscene, odious, offensive, repellent (also repellant), repugnant, repulsive, revolting, revulsive, scandalous, seamy, shocking, sick, sickening, ugly, unholy, vile, villainous; aggravating, annoying, galling, irritating, vexing; crappy [slang], cruddy, crummy (also crumby), lousy, miserable, sucky [slang], wretched

Near Antonyms delectable, delicious, delightful, dreamy, felicitous; amiable, charming, cheery, friendly, jolly, kindly, sweet

Antonyms agreeable, congenial, good, grateful, gratifying, nice, palatable, pleasant, pleasing, pleasurable, satisfying, welcome

9

causing worry or anxiety <she had the nasty sense that she'd made a mistake somewhere>

Synonyms discomforting, discomposing, disquieting, distressing, disturbing, nagging, nasty, perturbing, troubling, troublous, unsettling, upsetting, worrisome

Related Words daunting, demoralizing, discomfiting, disconcerting, discouraging, disheartening, dismaying, dispiriting; chilling, frightening, scary; harassing, persecutive, persecutory; alarming, dire, direful, dread, dreadful, fearful, fearsome, forbidding, formidable, frightening, frightful, ghastly, hair-raising, horrendous, horrible, horrifying, intimidating, scary, shocking, terrible, terrifying

Near Antonyms calming, quieting, settling, soothing; comforting, consoling, dreamy, inviting, lulling, narcotic, pacifying, relaxing, sedative, tranquilizing (also tranquillizing)

Antonyms reassuring

10

not being in accordance with the rules or standards of what is fair in sport <a nasty hit got the hockey player suspended>

Synonyms dirty, illegal, nasty, unfair, unsportsmanlike

Related Words dishonorable, shabby, shameful; ignoble, low, mean, ungentlemanly; immoral, rotten, unchivalrous, unethical, unjust, unprincipled, unrighteous, unscrupulous

Near Antonyms just, law-abiding; ethical, moral, principled, righteous, scrupulous; honorable, irreproachable, unimpeachable

Antonyms clean, fair, legal, sportsmanlike, sportsmanly

11

not following or in accordance with standards of honor and decency <that was a nasty trick to play on people who were so trusting>

Synonyms base, contemptible, currish, despicable, detestable, dirty, dishonorable, execrable, ignominious, low, low-down, low-minded, mean, nasty, paltry, snide, sordid, vile, wretched

Related Words bad, black, evil, foul, immoral, iniquitous, miscreant, wicked, wrong; cruel, vicious; blamable, blameworthy, censurable, reprehensible; corrupt, debased, debauched, degenerate, depraved, dissolute, perverted; atrocious, villainous; unethical, unprincipled, unscrupulous; discreditable, disgraceful, disreputable, shameful, unworthy

Near Antonyms ethical, honest, just, principled, righteous, right-minded, scrupulous; commendable, excellent, exemplary, good, moral, right; decent, proper, reputable, respectable, seemly; blameless, guiltless; incorruptible, irreproachable; uncorrupted, unerring

Antonyms high, high-minded, honorable, lofty, noble, straight, upright, venerable, virtuous

12

requiring exceptional skill or caution in performance or handling <given the high-ranking people involved, it will be a nasty job to hammer out a compromise>

Synonyms catchy, delicate, difficult, dodgy [chiefly British], hairy, knotty, nasty, prickly, problematic (also problematical), sensitive, spiny, sticky, thorny, ticklish, touchy, tough, tricksy

Related Words abstract, abstruse, complex, complicated, hard, intricate, involved, recondite, serious; problem, scabrous, stubborn, troublesome, troublous, vexatious, vexing, worrisome; burdensome, demanding, discommoding, exacting, exhausting, importunate, inconvenient, onerous, oppressive, painful, stressful

Near Antonyms easy, effortless, manageable, painless, simple, straightforward, uncomplicated, undemanding, unproblematic