nasty

B1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈnaː.sti/ UK /ˈnɑː.sti/ See IPA manual

Freq #2459

Meanings

1

adj
Very unpleasant or disgusting.

There was a nasty smell coming from the drain.
2

adj
Unkind, cruel, or spiteful.

Don't be so nasty to your little brother.
3

adj
Serious, severe, or dangerous.

She took a nasty fall on the icy steps.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · very unpleasant or disgusting. unpleasant horrible

2 adj · unkind, cruel, or spiteful. mean unkind spiteful

3 adj · serious, severe, or dangerous. severe

More beastly

Word family

Forms nastiernastiestnastily

Derived forms feminastynastilynastinessnastyassnastygramunnasty

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

nasty rumor
an unconfirmed story that is spiteful or harmful to someone's reputation

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Nasty was first recorded in the Middle Ages, but its origin is uncertain; it is probably related to Dutch and Swedish words with similar meanings. It originally meant “filthy” or “offensively dirty,” and its force has gradually weakened.

Etymology

From Middle English nasty, nasti, naxty, naxte (“unclean, filthy”), whence also Early Modern English nasky (“nasty”), of obscure origin. Probably from earlier Middle English *naskty, *naskedy, from Middle English *nasked (“dirty, messy”) + -y, ultimately of North Germanic origin (comparable to Danish nasket (“dirty, foul, unpleasant”), Swedish naskot (“dirty, filthy”), Swedish naskig, naskug (“nasty, dirty, messy”)), themselves all probably related to Proto-Germanic *hnaskuz (“tender, soft”). Likely doublet of nesh and nosh. Cognate with Scots nastie, nestie (“dirty, filthy”). Alternative theo…

nasty Middle English *naskty Middle English *nasked Middle English *hnaskuz Proto-Germanic nask nds nestich Middle Dutch nastre Old French -aster Latin naz goh

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# nasty

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈnaː.sti/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈnɑː.sti/
**Frequency rank:** 2459

## Meanings
1. Very unpleasant or disgusting.
2. Unkind, cruel, or spiteful.
3. Serious, severe, or dangerous.

## Examples
- There was a nasty smell coming from the drain.
- Don't be so nasty to your little brother.
- She took a nasty fall on the icy steps.

## Synonyms
- beastly

## Derived Forms
- feminasty
- nastily
- nastiness
- nastyass
- nastygram
- unnasty

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: nasty
- Root: *naskty
- Root: *nasked
- Root: *hnaskuz
- Root: nask
- Root: nestich
- Root: nastre
- Root: -aster
- Root: naz

## Etymology
From Middle English nasty, nasti, naxty, naxte (“unclean, filthy”), whence also Early Modern English nasky (“nasty”), of obscure origin. Probably from earlier Middle English *naskty, *naskedy, from Middle English *nasked (“dirty, messy”) + -y, ultimately of North Germanic origin (comparable to Danish nasket (“dirty, foul, unpleasant”), Swedish naskot (“dirty, filthy”), Swedish naskig, naskug (“nasty, dirty, messy”)), themselves all probably related to Proto-Germanic *hnaskuz (“tender, soft”). Likely doublet of nesh and nosh. Cognate with Scots nastie, nestie (“dirty, filthy”). Alternative theo…

## AI Etymology
Nasty comes from Middle English nasty, nasti, naxty, naxte (“unclean, filthy”), whence also Early Modern English nasky (“nasty”), of obscure origin. Probably from earlier Middle English *naskty, *naskedy, from Middle English *nasked (“dirty, messy”) + -y, ultimately of North Germanic origin (comparable to Danish nasket (“dirty, foul, unpleasant”), Swedish naskot (“dirty, filthy”), Swedish naskig, naskug (“nasty, dirty, messy”)), themselves all probably related to Proto-Germanic *hnaskuz (“tender, soft”). Likely doublet of nesh and nosh. In present-day English its meanings include very unpleasant or disgusting, unkind, cruel, or spiteful, and serious, severe, or dangerous. The historical chain runs through nasty (Middle English), *naskty (Middle English), *nasked (Middle English), *hnaskuz (Proto-Germanic), and nask (nds).

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

markdown