Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Disgusting or repellent: synonym: offensive.
- adjective Unpleasantly cold or wet.
- adjective Archaic Dirty; filthy.
- adjective Morally offensive or indecent.
- adjective Unpleasant or annoying.
- adjective Mean or spiteful.
- adjective Painful or dangerous; grave.
- adjective Exasperatingly difficult to solve or handle.
- noun One that is nasty.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Filthy; dirty; foul; unclean, either literally or figuratively.
- Of filthy habits.
- Morally filthy; indecent; ribald; indelicate: applied to speech or behavior.
- Nauseous; disgusting to taste or smell: as, a nasty medicine.
- In a weakened sense, disagreeable; bad.
- Foul; stormy; disagreeable; unpleasant: applied to the weather. Compare
dirty and foul in the same sense. - Troublesome; annoying; difficult to deal with, or threatening trouble; of a kind to be avoided: as, a nasty customer to deal with; a nasty cut or fall.
- Ill-natured; mean; dishonorable; hateful: as, a nasty remark; a nasty trick.
- Synonyms 1 and 3. Nasty, Filthy, Foul, Dirty. These words are on the descending scale of strength. Nasty is the strongest word in the language for that which is offensive to sight, smell, or touch by the quality of its uncleanness or uncleanliness, The English fondness for the colloquial use of the word in connection with bad weather, and figuratively for anything disagreeable, is not matched by anything in America; on the contrary, the word is considered too strong for ordinary or delicate use, and foul is used of bad weather. All the words apply to that which is filled or covered in considerable degree with anything offensive. The moral uses of the word correspond with the physical.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Offensively filthy; very dirty, foul, or defiled; disgusting; nauseous.
- adjective Hence, loosely: Offensive; disagreeable; unpropitious; wet; drizzling.
- adjective Characterized by obscenity; indecent; indelicate; gross; filthy.
- adjective Vicious; offensively ill-tempered; insultingly mean; spiteful.
- adjective slang Difficult to deal with; troublesome.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun informal Something nasty.
- noun euphemistic, preceded by "the"
Sexual intercourse .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective disgustingly dirty; filled or smeared with offensive matter
- adjective offensive or even (of persons) malicious
- adjective characterized by obscenity
- adjective exasperatingly difficult to handle or circumvent
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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"I'm feeling very, very, _very_ well, my Lord Dook, Mr. V.V. On'y I decided I'd spend to-day lazyin 'at my writin'-desk, readin' over my billy-doox from peers of the rellum, 'stead of working my hands and legs off in that nasty, _nasty_, NASTY --"
V. V.'s Eyes Henry Sydnor Harrison 1905
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For instance: at a rustic dance in that state a Kentuckian said to an acquaintance of mine, in reply to his asking the name of a very fine girl, "That's my sister, stranger; and I flatter myself that she shows the _nastiest_ ankle in all Kentuck" -- _Unde derivatur_, from the constant rifle-practice in that state, a good shot or a pretty shot is termed also a nasty shot, because it would make a _nasty_ wound:
Diary in America, Series One Frederick Marryat 1820
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He connected them with what he called the nasty newfangled method of leaving a cloth on the table, as though to warn people that they were not to sit long.
Barchester Towers 2004
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And after her there was Billy Pearce, with one of his regular sore throats and his rather bad - tempered mum, and Mrs. Platt from the shop with what she called a nasty sharp pain inside.
A Summer Idyll Neels, Betty 1984
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Very well, then, but I have what you call a nasty one for you.
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He connected them with what he called the nasty newfangled method of leaving a cloth on the table, as though to warn people that they were not to sit long.
Barchester Towers Anthony Trollope 1848
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The Guardian's US journalists on Twitter In the UK, the rightwing Tories worked to ditch what they called the 'nasty party' image Did they export it over here?
The Guardian World News Ronald Bergan 2011
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Police are investigating what they described as a nasty and cowardly attack on the bus driver in Lyall Bay around 9. 20pm last night.
Stuff.co.nz - Stuff 2010
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Police are investigating what they described as a nasty and cowardly attack on the bus driver in Lyall Bay around 9. 20pm last night.
Stuff.co.nz - Stuff 2010
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Stuart blames her loss on what she called a nasty, dirty campaign full of lies.
dontcry commented on the word nasty
motmelts hates this word. ;-)
October 16, 2009