1
as in dirty
arousing or deserving of one's loathing and disgust
fortunately, the story's nasty characters are balanced by some truly good people
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ugly
causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment
a nasty horror movie that was so violent that I could hardly watch the opening scenes
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3
as in painful
causing or feeling bodily pain
a nasty cut on my lip
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4
as in obscene
depicting or referring to sexual matters in a way that is unacceptable in polite society
nasty magazines that are not sold to minors
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5
as in malicious
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it
nasty comments that trolls left on the website
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6
as in turbulent
marked by wet and windy conditions
bring your raincoat, as the weather's supposed to be nasty
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7
as in filthy
not clean
it's incredibly nasty inside that garbage bin, so stay away from there
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8
as in unpleasant
not giving pleasure to the mind or senses
the smell of those old leftovers is downright nasty
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9
as in unsettling
causing worry or anxiety
she had the nasty sense that she'd made a mistake somewhere
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10
as in foul
not being in accordance with the rules or standards of what is fair in sport
a nasty hit got the hockey player suspended
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11
as in vile
not following or in accordance with standards of honor and decency
that was a nasty trick to play on people who were so trusting
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12
as in difficult
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
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of nasty
William Lustig’s nasty piece of work is an ’80s grindhouse treasure enhanced by Tom Savini’s show-stopping gore effects (the special-effects maestro also appears as one of the victims).
—
Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 9 June 2026
Every election seems to get nastier, even here, locally.
—Haven Shoemaker, Baltimore Sun, 9 June 2026
And his influence is felt in South Carolina, a staunchly conservative state where the party's nomination almost ensures a win in the general election and GOP primaries have a long history of being nasty competitions.
—Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 8 June 2026
The hail of insults pouring from the Cubs dugout grew louder and nastier.
—Literary Hub, 8 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for nasty
Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 9 June 2026
Every election seems to get nastier, even here, locally.
—Haven Shoemaker, Baltimore Sun, 9 June 2026
And his influence is felt in South Carolina, a staunchly conservative state where the party's nomination almost ensures a win in the general election and GOP primaries have a long history of being nasty competitions.
—Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 8 June 2026
The hail of insults pouring from the Cubs dugout grew louder and nastier.
—Literary Hub, 8 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for nasty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nasty
Adjective
-
There are very few hints in art of dogs being dirty, vicious or rabid.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2026
-
Merchants in fine suits rode in carriages or on sedan chairs while enslaved people lugging carts and crates wore dirty, threadbare clothing and could be publicly whipped or burned to death for misbehavior.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
9 June 2026
Adjective
-
From Valentino pig hoofs to Chanel half-sandals, our feeds are full of silly, outrageous and outright ugly footwear.—
Shane O’Neill,
Washington Post,
12 June 2026
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Still, the settlement agreement bars either side from appealing Liman’s ruling, potentially drawing one of Hollywood’s ugliest recent legal fights to a close.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
12 June 2026
Adjective
-
The core characters Each character came into their own during the series, sometimes in emotionally painful ways.—
Pat Saperstein,
Variety,
14 June 2026
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Hidden inside those numbers is a long and painful history.—
Ryan Lenora Brown,
NPR,
14 June 2026
Adjective
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Karen Read filed her lawsuit against Canton and the MSP not only to reveal shockingly obscene and racist text messages between key cops investigating her — but also to relitigate the defense theory of conspiracy to frame her.—
Flint McColgan,
Boston Herald,
7 June 2026
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The Seleção has been knocked out in the quarterfinals in four of the last five tournaments and finished fourth in 2014, which featured an obscene 7-1 drubbing against Germany in the semifinal.—
Ben Church,
CNN Money,
6 June 2026
Adjective
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The malicious prosecution claim was dismissed after Levine’s attorneys failed to object to a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the final charge.—
Jack Harvel,
Kansas City Star,
11 June 2026
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The Knicks also got their revenge on Wembanyama, who went unpenalized for a malicious, above-the-shoulders shove on Brunson in Game 3.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
11 June 2026
Adjective
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The discovery is so surprising because even though AGNs are rich with gas and dust — the building blocks of planets — the turbulent conditions within the disks wouldn't generally be considered ideal for forming planets.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
14 June 2026
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The weekend’s severe weather follows a turbulent stretch earlier this week, when severe weather placed 13 million people under flood watches and triggered widespread power outages.—
Christine Rapp,
NBC news,
13 June 2026
Adjective
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For example, the prescription offered by those who saw a generally healthy way of life as the right way to prevent disease helped propel cleaning up the filthy cities of the Industrial Revolution—and that really did reduce the impact of common fevers.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
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On the other hand, the cloth seats in many buses are filthy.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
8 June 2026
Adjective
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Residents who have discussed the issue online described the smell as one of the most unpleasant aspects of the ongoing seaweed buildup.—
Kelly McGreal,
FOXNews.com,
13 June 2026
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The figure-skimming silhouette also prevents the unpleasant feeling of sweating in too-tight clothes.—
Sophie Dodd,
Travel + Leisure,
12 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nasty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nasty. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
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