as in mischievous
engaging in or marked by childish misbehavior
told her to act her age and stop throwing temper tantrums like a naughty little girl
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Recent Examples of naughty
Kaye Schloemer’s rum balls were a big hit at holiday parties and potlucks—sweet, bite-sized, and just a little bit naughty!
—
Josh Miller, Southern Living, 22 Dec. 2025
Our editors have scoured the market for the 10 best faux fur coats that won’t get you on PETA’s naughty list this Christmas.
—Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 22 Dec. 2025
They are forbidden to have naughty thoughts, leading to some unfortunate outcomes for several elves.
—Andy Hoglund, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Dec. 2025
Christmas in America has long been about receiving presents from Santa for being nice, or at worst, getting a lump of coal for being naughty.
—Carlie Procell, USA Today, 20 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for naughty
Josh Miller, Southern Living, 22 Dec. 2025
Our editors have scoured the market for the 10 best faux fur coats that won’t get you on PETA’s naughty list this Christmas.
—Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 22 Dec. 2025
They are forbidden to have naughty thoughts, leading to some unfortunate outcomes for several elves.
—Andy Hoglund, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Dec. 2025
Christmas in America has long been about receiving presents from Santa for being nice, or at worst, getting a lump of coal for being naughty.
—Carlie Procell, USA Today, 20 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for naughty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for naughty
Adjective
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Within your 3rd House of Local Community, mischievous Mercury combines with dark Pluto, turning conversations into truth-seeking moments that clarify trust and tighten details.—
Tarot.com,
Sun Sentinel,
22 Jan. 2026
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In House of the Dragon’s season 2 premiere, Aegon II brought him to a meeting where Jaehaerys II was mischievous and bored.—
Skyler Trepel,
PEOPLE,
19 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Now, but as the statistics and figures come in here in Minneapolis, there's double-digit drops in crime, coupled with a lot of bad people and bad things being taken off of your streets.—
Esme Murphy,
CBS News,
13 Jan. 2026
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Under President Biden, the FTC and DOJ slowed large transactions, suggesting that all big businesses were bad businesses.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Time,
13 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Naughty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/naughty. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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