as in mischievous
engaging in or marked by childish misbehavior
told her to act her age and stop throwing temper tantrums like a naughty little girl
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Recent Examples of naughty
Our editors have scoured the market for the 10 best faux fur coats that won’t get you on PETA’s naughty list this Christmas.
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Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 22 Dec. 2025
They are forbidden to have naughty thoughts, leading to some unfortunate outcomes for several elves.
—Andy Hoglund, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Dec. 2025
Christmas in America has long been about receiving presents from Santa for being nice, or at worst, getting a lump of coal for being naughty.
—Carlie Procell, USA Today, 20 Dec. 2025
Visitors can choose to be on the nice list, grabbing a green glow stick for a calmer, family-friendly walk-through, or choose the naughty list for a scarier experience by not picking a glow stick.
—Natalie Davies, Freep.com, 19 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for naughty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for naughty
Adjective
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Burnett pauses, considers the question, and then flashes a mischievous grin.—
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Dave, feeling mischievous, ushered them towards a window seat and what, on the face of it, seemed a prime spot.—
Adjective
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Iran is facing its worst drought in decades, raising fears of evacuations in Tehran while threatening the regime’s stability and nuclear ambitions, according to a leading environmental expert.—
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Keeping bad things out of my body.—
Cite this Entry
“Naughty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/naughty. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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