1
as in malice
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in grossness
the quality or state of being obscene
the nastiness of the graffiti required that the school remove it immediately
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in dustiness
the state or quality of being dirty
the piles of rotting food in the kitchen were only one element in the apartment's general impression of appalling nastiness
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nastiness
Noun
-
Beneath the inevitable finger-pointing and politicizing, there is often a genuine, even desperate, human impulse to find fault not out of malice, but out of mourning and a desire to find solutions.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
8 July 2025 -
To hunt a predator feels like an act of malice, of dominance, of ego.—
Helen Whybrow
July 7,
Literary Hub,
7 July 2025
Noun
-
Do not follow the myths by trying to suck out the venom or cutting the wound or even using a tourniquet.—
Nicole Villalpando,
Austin American Statesman,
11 July 2025
-
Beyond dialing 911 and seeking medical attention, Starkey and the National Park Service recommend taking these actions in the aftermath of a rattler strike: Stop moving the limb where the bite occurred to limit the spread of the venom.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
9 July 2025
Noun
-
Robert Rhoads, Oakland Park Politicians and vulgarities Your front-page article on the use of expletives by U.S.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
7 July 2025
-
During the presentation by PMM Chesterton, Kowalski was sharply critical and at one juncture used the vulgarity for bull waste.—
Jim Woods,
Chicago Tribune,
2 July 2025
Noun
-
An earnest, has-a-costume-for-everything kind of guy, Daub is allergic to the greige and the dinge.—
Sandra Upson,
Wired,
18 Jan. 2021
-
Dinges said the two crewmembers whose sleep remained steady -- even in the absence of conventional daylight -- were those who kept to a strict schedule and found other ways to control their biological clocks.—
Michael Nedelman,
CNN,
1 June 2017
Noun
-
There’s a great tradition in sports of being driven by a fear, or a hatred, of that feeling.—
Louisa Thomas,
New Yorker,
14 July 2025
-
She’s been feeling so much hatred, so much anger, so much sadness, so much disappointment these last few episodes.—
Lynette Rice,
Deadline,
13 July 2025
Noun
-
The new law adds to existing municipal ordinances that forbid animal cruelty or neglect, including leaving a pet in too small of a space or outside in the hot Florida sun.—
Shira Moolten,
Sun Sentinel,
3 July 2025
-
Miller faces four counts of cruelty to a companion animal and 34 counts of complicity.—
Aaron Valdez,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025
Noun
-
With the right approach, sales teams can grow through disruption, not in spite of it.—
Julie Thomas,
Forbes.com,
11 July 2025
-
In spite of his advocacy, Keefe never lost sight that the goal of litigation was justice, according to U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who faced Keefe very early in his career, first as a trial lawyer and later as U.S. Attorney.—
Edmund H. Mahony,
Hartford Courant,
11 July 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Nastiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nastiness. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.
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