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nasty

 - 4 dictionary results

nas⋅ty

  [nas-tee] adjective, -ti⋅er, -ti⋅est, noun, plural -ties.
Use nasty in a Sentence
–adjective
1. physically filthy; disgustingly unclean: a nasty pigsty of a room.
2. offensive to taste or smell; nauseating.
3. offensive; objectionable: a nasty habit.
4. vicious, spiteful, or ugly: a nasty dog; a nasty rumor.
5. bad or hard to deal with, encounter, undergo, etc.; dangerous; serious: a nasty cut; a nasty accident.
6. very unpleasant or disagreeable: nasty weather.
7. morally filthy; obscene; indecent: a nasty word.
8. Slang. formidable: The young pitcher has a good fast ball and a nasty curve.
–noun
9. Informal. a nasty person or thing.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < ?

Related forms:
nas⋅ti⋅ly, adverb
nas⋅ti⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. dirty, foul, loathsome. 2. sickening, repulsive, repellent. 6 stormy, inclement. 7. smutty, pornographic.

Antonyms:
1. clean, pure.

-nasty

 
a combining form with the meaning “nastic pressure,” of the kind or in the direction specified by the initial element: hyponasty.
Origin:
< Gk nast(ós) pressed close (see nastic ) + -y 3
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To nasty
nas·ty   (nās'tē)   
adj.   nas·ti·er, nas·ti·est

    1. Disgustingly dirty.

    2. Physically repellent.

  2. Morally offensive; indecent. See Synonyms at offensive.

  3. Malicious; spiteful: "Will he say nasty things at my funeral?" (Ezra Pound).

  4. Very unpleasant or annoying: nasty weather; a nasty trick.

  5. Painful or dangerous; grave: a nasty accident.

  6. Exasperatingly difficult to solve or handle: a nasty puzzle; a nasty problem.

n.   pl. nas·ties
One that is nasty: "It is the business of museums to present us with nasties as well as with fine things" (Country Life).

[Middle English nasti, possibly alteration of Old French nastre, bad, short for villenastre : vilein, bad; see villain + -astre, pejorative suff. (from Latin -aster).]
nas'ti·ly adv., nas'ti·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

nasty 
c.1400, "foul, filthy, dirty, unclean," perhaps from O.Fr. nastre "bad, strange," shortened form of villenastre "infamous, bad," from vilein "villain" + -astre, pejorative suffix, from L. -aster. Alternate etymology is from Du. nestig "dirty," lit. "like a bird's nest." Likely reinforced by a Scand. source (cf. Swed. dial. naskug "dirty, nasty"). Of weather, from 1634; of things generally, "unpleasant, offensive," from 1705. Of people, "ill-tempered," from 1825.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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