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
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Recent Examples of nastiness
In this battle for reputation protection, no one’s a winner — including the audience who might just want to shower after all this nastiness and cruelty ends.
—
Randy Myers, Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2025
Released post-Columbine and heavily influenced by that tragedy, Scream 3 walks back from the gruesome violence and flashes of genuine nastiness that permeated the previous installments.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Sep. 2025
No wonder a little nastiness surfaced at the fair when the Senate candidates took reporters’ questions.
—Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2025
Randy Myers, Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2025
Released post-Columbine and heavily influenced by that tragedy, Scream 3 walks back from the gruesome violence and flashes of genuine nastiness that permeated the previous installments.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Sep. 2025
No wonder a little nastiness surfaced at the fair when the Senate candidates took reporters’ questions.
—Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nastiness
Noun
-
These materials can help Ellis prove that Alvarado acted with actual malice.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
15 Oct. 2025
-
In addition to stealing students’ data, the worm had also altered some records, perhaps for no better reason than simple malice.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
In fact, plenty of other things in your home surpass the toilet in terms of grossness.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
24 Sep. 2025
-
Brain rot has become unavoidable, its grossness ubiquitous.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
20 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Spiders have venom to subdue prey, but the majority have fangs that are too tiny to puncture human skin.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
11 Oct. 2025
-
Luckily the snake did not inject any venom.—
Sarah Moore,
Freep.com,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Songs marked explicit mean their lyrics include swear words or other vulgarities.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
-
The presence of these planes flying close to our Caribbean Sea is a vulgarity, a provocation, a threat to the security of the nation.—
John Feng,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 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
-
The former screen siren was fined nearly $25,000 in 2008 after being convicted of provoking discrimination and racial hatred for writing that Muslims are destroying her country.—
Angela Andaloro,
PEOPLE,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Looking at me with pure hatred.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
This will avoid causing damage to the sealant and potential staining.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Critically, the ancient teeth from betel nut chewers are distinguishable because of red staining.—
Elizabeth Rayne,
ArsTechnica,
19 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
What has changed in recent years, Pettman argues, is the ease—and cruelty—with which people can enter and exit one another’s lives.—
Anna Holmes,
The Atlantic,
20 Oct. 2025
-
Both characters struggle with the weight of their guilt, but where Cole has fallen deeper into cruelty, Grasso takes the first step on a path to redemption.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nastiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nastiness. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.
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