nasty

The word “nasty” means unpleasant, unkind, or spiteful, especially in how someone treats others. In plain terms, unpleasant in a strong way — could describe cruel behavior, something dirty, or something serious like an injury.

“Nasty” is pronounced NAH-stee (/ˈnæs.ti/ in IPA).

Here is “nasty” used in a sentence: “She said some really nasty things about her coworker behind her back.”

Words with a similar meaning to “nasty” include beastly.

“Nasty” is an adjective.

The word “nasty” comes from Middle English. Traced back to Middle English "nasty," meaning filthy or unclean, though its deeper origin is uncertain — possibly linked to old North Germanic words for "dirty" or "soft.".

“Nasty” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Nasty” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: unpleasant, unkind, or spiteful, especially in how someone treats others.

Both describe unkind behaviour, but nasty tends to stress spite and unpleasantness, while mean can also suggest cruelty or stinginess. Nasty additionally carries a separate sense meaning dirty or filthy, which mean does not.

Nasty is an informal, everyday word. In formal writing, alternatives such as unpleasant, spiteful, or offensive are usually preferred.

Yes. Nasty can describe an unkind or spiteful person or their behaviour, but it can also describe things that are dirty, filthy, or generally unpleasant, such as a nasty smell or a nasty wound.

In its second sense, nasty overlaps with dirty, both meaning filthy, but nasty is stronger and more emotive, suggesting something repellent, whereas dirty is comparatively neutral.