1
as in malice
the desire to cause pain for the satisfaction of doing harm
there was a natural nastiness about him that was evident from the time he was a small child
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in grossness
the quality or state of being obscene
the nastiness of the graffiti required that the school remove it immediately
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in dustiness
the state or quality of being dirty
the piles of rotting food in the kitchen were only one element in the apartment's general impression of appalling nastiness
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nastiness
Tracy’s dialogue, though absent the staccato non sequiturs of the director’s earlier work, has a bracing nastiness; every visual flourish and every menacing thrum of the score, by Jerskin Fendrix, escalates the intensity of Stone and Plemons’s bravura showdown.
—
Justin Chang, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
In this battle for reputation protection, no one’s a winner — including the audience who might just want to shower after all this nastiness and cruelty ends.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2025
Released post-Columbine and heavily influenced by that tragedy, Scream 3 walks back from the gruesome violence and flashes of genuine nastiness that permeated the previous installments.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Sep. 2025
No wonder a little nastiness surfaced at the fair when the Senate candidates took reporters’ questions.
—Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nastiness
Noun
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Prosecutors could not prove malice in the case.—
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Some commenters did acknowledge a minority viewpoint, suggesting the conflict may stem from differing perspectives rather than malice.—
Noun
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He is charged with open and lewd grossness.—
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In fact, plenty of other things in your home surpass the toilet in terms of grossness.—
Noun
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It’s theorized this is because the brown widow isn’t able to inject as much venom as its larger relative.—
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Their venom Is not considered dangerous to humans, although a bite would likely be painful and cause swelling similar to that of a wasp sting.—
Noun
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With its insistent, obsessive patter, not to mention its unrelenting commitment to in-your-face vulgarity, Sherman’s comedy is hardly for everyone.—
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The artist’s way, of course, is sincere, even if in the case of Dracula, sincerity begets just under three hours of unsparing cultural commentary and full goose bozo vulgarity.—
Noun
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An earnest, has-a-costume-for-everything kind of guy, Daub is allergic to the greige and the dinge.—
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Dinges said the two crewmembers whose sleep remained steady -- even in the absence of conventional daylight -- were those who kept to a strict schedule and found other ways to control their biological clocks.—
Noun
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Some viewers will know Rapaport from his decadeslong acting career but also that one very irritating season of Justified; others will know him for his anti-Palestinian rants and hatred of New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani.—
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This is not to say that rape can be separated from the hatred of women, just that, in certain situations, the role of the victim can be violently reassigned.—
Noun
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Even natural staining was preserved—crews deliberately left the rust and mineral stains (efflorescence) on the concrete.—
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This will avoid causing damage to the sealant and potential staining.—
Noun
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The American people must reject this cruelty and extremism.—
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Does their lack of kindness grant you permission to respond with equal insensitivity or even cruelty?—
Cite this Entry
“Nastiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nastiness. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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