naughty

adjective

naugh·​ty ˈnȯ-tē  ˈnä- 

naughtier; naughtiest

1

a

: guilty of disobedience or misbehavior

a naughty child

b

archaic : vicious in moral character : wicked

2

: lacking in taste or propriety

No naughty jokes in front of the children, please!

naughtily

ˈnȯ-tə-lē 

ˈnä-

adverb

naughtiness

ˈnȯ-tē-nəs 

ˈnä-

noun

Synonyms of naughty

• mischievous
• bad

Examples of naughty in a Sentence

She gave him a naughty smile.

told her to act her age and stop throwing temper tantrums like a naughty little girl

Recent Examples on the Web

In the special, Snoopy has wound up on Santa’s naughty list and has just 12 days to change his standing with the big man (and possibly learn a lesson or two about what the holiday season is really about). — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 4 Nov. 2026

But when Santa fails to show up at their house to back them up, Mark and Daryl are forced to go in by themselves in the hopes of rescuing Julie and Bobby before the Kringles put the entire Severson family permanently on the naughty list. — Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 29 Oct. 2026

The Kansas locations do not serve naughty flavors, but the Riverfront location will. — Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2026

Don't get too friendly, though–some of the more naughty giraffes like to give the occasional head butt. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English noughti, from nought

First Known Use

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

Rhymes for naughty

• dotty
• doughty
• draughty
• haughty
• knotty
• potty
• scottie
• spotty
• strati
• zloty
• basmati
• bharati

Kids Definition

naughty

adjective

naugh·​ty ˈnȯt-ē 

ˈnät-

naughtier; naughtiest

: behaving badly or improperly

naughtily

ˈnȯt-ᵊl-ē 

ˈnät-

adverb

naughtiness

ˈnȯt-ē-nəs 

ˈnät-

noun