nasty
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- objectionable, disagreeable, loathsome, obnoxious, offensive, unpleasant, vile
- spiteful, despicable, disagreeable, distasteful, malicious, mean, unpleasant, vicious, vile
- painful, bad, critical, dangerous, serious, severe

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Related Words: coarse, gross, obscene, ribald, vulgar, improper, indecent, indecorous, indelicate, unseemly

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English Thesaurus: horrible, disgusting/revolting, nasty, nauseating, foul, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

nas‧ty S2 /ˈnɑːsti $ ˈnæsti/ adjective (comparative nastier, superlative nastiest)
[Date: 1300-1400; Origin: Perhaps from a Scandinavian language]

1. BEHAVIOUR nasty behaviour or remarks are extremely unkind and unpleasant:
a nasty temper
the nasty things that were being written about her
There’s a nasty streak in her character.
Drivers often have a nasty habit of driving too close to cyclists.
nasty to
Don’t be so nasty to your mum (=do not treat her unkindly).
get/turn nasty especially British English (=suddenly start behaving in a threatening way)
When Harry refused, Don turned nasty and went for him with both fists.

2. PERSON someone who is nasty behaves in an unkind and unpleasant way:
I went to school with him – he was nasty then and he’s nasty now.
You’re a nasty little brute!

3. EXPERIENCE/SITUATION a nasty experience, feeling, or situation is unpleasant
nasty shock/surprise
It gave me a nasty shock.
nasty feeling/suspicion
I had a nasty feeling that a tragedy was going to happen.
Life has a nasty habit of repeating itself.
He had a nasty accident while riding in the forest.
When you feel you’ve been cheated, it always leaves a nasty taste in the mouth (=makes you feel upset or angry afterwards).
The weather turned nasty towards the evening.

4. SIGHT/SMELL ETC having a bad appearance, smell, taste etc:
What’s that nasty smell?
a market stall selling cheap and nasty watches

5. INJURY/ILLNESS severe or very painful:
a nasty cut
He was carried off the field with a nasty injury.

6. SUBSTANCE a nasty substance is dangerous:
nasty chemicals

7. a nasty piece of work British English someone who is dishonest, violent, or likely to cause trouble
—nastily adverb
—nastiness noun [uncountable]
⇒ video nasty

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

nasty
adj.
VERBS be, look, smell, sound, taste He made it all sound very nasty.
become, get, turn Things could turn nasty (= dangerous) if we're not careful.
ADV. extremely, particularly, really, very | thoroughly gang warfare of a thoroughly nasty kind
pretty, quite, rather
PREP. about She was nasty about everyone.
to Kevin seems to enjoy being nasty to his sisters.
PHRASES cheap and nasty a room full of cheap and nasty ornaments
nasty little a nasty little man

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

horrible very bad and unpleasant:
What’s that horrible smell?
This fish tastes horrible.
disgusting/revolting horrible, especially in a way that makes you feel slightly sick:
I had to take two spoons of some disgusting medicine.
The stench in the room was revolting.
nasty very unpleasant – often used about a taste that stays in your mouth:
Cheap wine sometimes leaves a nasty taste in your mouth.
the nasty smell of bad eggs
nauseating /ˈnɔːzieɪtɪŋ, -si- $ ˈnɒːzi-, -ʃi-/ horrible and making you feel that you are going to vomit – used especially about a smell:
the nauseating smell of stale beer and cigarette smoke
foul /faʊl/ horrible – used especially when there is decay or waste:
There was a foul smell coming from the water.
Whatever it was in that cup, it tasted foul.
horrible/terrible/awful/dreadful very bad and unpleasant:
For one horrible moment, I thought I was going to fall.
The refugees were living in dreadful conditions.
It must have been a terrible worry for them.
Thousands of people lost their jobs – it was awful.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

unkind treating people in a way that makes them unhappy or upset. Unkind sounds rather formal. In everyday English, people usually say mean or nasty:
Children can be very unkind to each other.
a rather unkind remark
mean especially spoken unkind:
Don’t be mean to your sister!
It was a mean thing to do.
nasty deliberately unkind, and seeming to enjoy making people unhappy:
He said some really nasty things before he left.
a nasty man
hurtful unkind – used about remarks and actions:
Joe couldn’t forget the hurtful things she had said.
Couples sometimes do hurtful things to each other.
spiteful deliberately unkind to someone because you are jealous of them or angry with them:
The other women were spiteful to her, and gave her the hardest work to do.
She watched them with spiteful glee (=pleasure).
malicious deliberately behaving in a way that is likely to upset, hurt, or cause problems for someone:
Someone had been spreading malicious rumours about him.
There was a malicious smile on her face.
an act of malicious vandalism
The accusations are malicious.
unsympathetic not seeming to care about someone’s problems, and not trying to help them or make them feel better:
Her parents were very unsympathetic, and told her that she deserved to fail her exam.
an unsympathetic boss
hard-hearted very unsympathetic and not caring at all about other people’s feelings:
Was he hard-hearted enough to leave his son in jail overnight?
a hard-hearted businessman
horrible especially spoken very unkind:
Why is Jack always so horrible to me?
cruel very unkind and deliberately making people feel unhappy or making them suffer physically:
Her father was very cruel to her.
a selfish, cruel woman
wicked /ˈwɪkəd, ˈwɪkɪd/ extremely unkind and behaving in a very immoral way:
a wicked thing to do
the wicked stepmother in Cinderella
sadistic extremely unkind and enjoying making other people suffer:
Their father was a sadistic bully who beat them regularly.
He took a certain sadistic pleasure in his job.
thoughtless/inconsiderate not thinking about the effects of your actions on other people:
It was inconsiderate of him not to say that he would be late.
a thoughtless disregard for other people’s feelings
tactless someone who is tactless carelessly says or does things that are likely to upset someone, without realizing what they are doing:
How could you be so tactless?
a tactless question
insensitive behaving in a way that is likely to upset someone, or not seeming to care about someone’s feelings. Insensitive is rather a formal word:
The article is insensitive to the family and friends of the victim.
He later admitted that some of his remarks were ‘insensitive’.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲