noun

nastiness

noun

The quality of being unpleasant, unkind, or spiteful.

"The nastiness of his comments left everyone in the meeting uncomfortable."

"There was real nastiness behind her polite smile."

Dirtiness or filth.

"They scrubbed away weeks of nastiness from the abandoned kitchen."

How to Use Nastiness

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishThe state or quality of being nasty — whether that means cruel behavior or literal filth.

Common pairings

sheer nastiness a bit of nastiness the nastiness of

nastinesses plural

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The _____ of his comments left everyone in the meeting uncomfortable.

Formed from "nasty" plus the noun-forming suffix "-ness."

business ugliness laziness holiness happiness craziness weariness readiness emptiness manliness dizziness tardiness