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
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
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
How does the adjective nasty differ from other similar words?
Some common synonyms of nasty are dirty, filthy, foul, and squalid. While all these words mean "conspicuously unclean or impure," nasty applies to what is actually foul or is repugnant to one expecting freshness, cleanliness, or sweetness; in practice, however, nasty is often weakened to the point of being no more than a synonym of unpleasant or disagreeable. When used figuratively, nasty implies a peculiarly offensive unpleasantness.
it's a nasty job to clean up after a sick cat
had a nasty fall
his answer gave her a nasty shock
a stand-up comedian known for nasty humor
When is dirty a more appropriate choice than nasty?
The words dirty and nasty are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, dirty emphasizes the presence of dirt more than an emotional reaction to it or, figuratively, stresses meanness or despicableness.
a dirty littered street
don't ask me to do your dirty work
When could filthy be used to replace nasty?
Although the words filthy and nasty have much in common, filthy carries a strong suggestion of offensiveness and typically of gradually accumulated dirt that begrimes and besmears. Figuratively, it can also describe disgusting obscenity.
a stained greasy floor, utterly filthy
filthy street language
When would foul be a good substitute for nasty?
While in some cases nearly identical to nasty, foul implies extreme offensiveness and an accumulation of what is rotten or stinking; it can also describe, for example, loathsome behavior.
a foul-smelling open sewer
a foul story of lust and greed
When might squalid be a better fit than nasty?
In some situations, the words squalid and nasty are roughly equivalent. However, squalid adds to the idea of dirtiness and filth that of slovenly neglect. Distinctively, its figurative use implies sordidness as well as baseness and dirtiness.
squalid slums
engaged in a series of squalid affairs
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nastiness
Noun
Now that we’re retired, most of our trips are during off-peak hours, and the experience is too often very unpleasant either because of nastiness of one kind or another or delays.—Chicago Tribune,
8 June 2026 The bullpen ranks 30th in FanGraphs’ Stuff+ metric, which more or less measures the nastiness of a pitcher’s arsenal.—
Spencer Nusbaum,
New York Times,
24 June 2026
Adjective
The race between Espaillat and Avila Chevalier has been nastier, exposing the risks of the mayor’s strategy.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
23 June 2026 Ghana's Inaki Williams was shown a yellow card after a nasty tackle on England's Anthony Gordon just outside the box.—
Monica Alba,
NBC news,
24 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for nastiness
All your Dad has to do is fill it and drink—the microfilter membrane will do the rest by removing chlorine odors, dirt, bacteria, and any other grossness floating around in there.
—
Francesca Krempa,
Travel + Leisure,
11 June 2026
There are no great surprises from here on out, though the sheer, lusty grossness of the fallout is occasionally startling.
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.
The once-vaunted values of public life are now reduced to the lower standards of private life—venality, vulgarity, rudeness, incontinence, and ignorance.
—
Simon Sebag Montefiore,
The Atlantic,
28 June 2026
Benoit delights in language as much as her heroine, weaving Regency-era slang throughout and appending a chapter-by-chapter glossary of vulgarities.
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