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 nastyWith American Family Field rocking, Ashby reared back and threw a nasty curve that Díaz tried to hold up on.—
Jacob Lev,
CNN Money,
24 Oct. 2026 Of course, there has been some criticism of this plan, as France is experiencing some pretty nasty civil unrest at the moment, but the game will go ahead, with the Saints having been in the country for a few days already.—
Matt Reigle Outkick,
FOXNews.com,
22 Oct. 2026 The polls still show a close-range contest, but in the increasingly nasty ad war, the spending suggests a far more lopsided fight.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
19 Oct. 2026 Officers then cuffed the youngster as he was loaded into an ambulance and hospitalized for a fractured femur and a nasty bruise on his head, according to the lawsuit, which was filed by the teen’s dad, Mahmoud Saleh, in Brooklyn Federal Court.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
18 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for nasty
The heartwarming film takes us on a ride through archive and new footage and rehearsals and re-enactments of Happy Gays that bring up happy but also painful memories, along with a different side of the at times curmudgeonly Jolanda.
—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Nov. 2026
For the third time in two seasons, Sam is forced to sever a relationship, and this one may be the most painful, the most cruel, because in killing Jerry, Sam is destroying potential.
Those images are said to include an adult man identified by witnesses as Markle with a nude prepubescent girl among other obscene materials.
—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
6 Nov. 2026
Facing a Carolina defense that fired its coordinator, the Broncos need to secure an early lead — not a crazy idea given that Sean Payton dispatches NFC South opponents with an impersonal contempt that’s almost obscene — and let the defense eat.
Authorities have described the more than two dozen threats as malicious hoaxes, and no actual attacks have been carried out.
—
Jenni Reid,
CNBC,
7 Nov. 2026
Iran has been linked to at least one incident in Israel earlier in the spring, though that breach involved a lot more sophistication and malicious activity.
That incident came just a day after a 5-year-old girl was pulled into the ocean and drowned in turbulent waters while walking on Treasure Island Beach in Orange County with her mother and brother.
—
Suhauna Hussain,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Nov. 2026
Riner’s announcement comes at a particularly turbulent moment in France, just five months before a presidential election that has exposed deep divisions across the political spectrum.
George is being extremely unpleasant toward everyone and seems to be moving toward a breakdown.
—
Alice Burton,
Vulture,
2 Nov. 2026
Consumers across the country have described to CBS California Investigates, and in hundreds of online reviews, their unpleasant experiences at the stores, alleging they were pressured to make purchases worth thousands of dollars.
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