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
The inherent nastiness of Over Your Dead Body will likely keep it from being anything but another cultish object in Taccone’s interesting career.
—
David Sims, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2026
At a time when Hafley and general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan have engaged in a culture change in Miami Gardens, Bain can help bring a nastiness to the defense.
—Miami Herald, 22 Apr. 2026
At least until all hell breaks loose in a kinetic movie that revels in its unrelenting nastiness.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2026
In this moment when fine dining is being roiled by toxic behavior, Nancy’s eight restaurants offer proof that nastiness is no recipe for success.
—Ruth Reichl, Time, 15 Apr. 2026
The potential nastiness of this year’s race has led others to be cautious about tossing their hat into the ring.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 8 Apr. 2026
Amanda says she’s stuck by him through the rumors and nastiness, as Meredith Marks would say, and all the terrible things he’s done, but she will not be talked to like that anymore; she’s done.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 1 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, the movie’s villains — played by recognizable faces, among them Heather Graham and Tom Felton — get pretty much zero by way of personality, or even superficial nastiness, making Asia’s reprisals a whole lot less entertaining.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026
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, 3 Mar. 2026
David Sims, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2026
At a time when Hafley and general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan have engaged in a culture change in Miami Gardens, Bain can help bring a nastiness to the defense.
—Miami Herald, 22 Apr. 2026
At least until all hell breaks loose in a kinetic movie that revels in its unrelenting nastiness.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2026
In this moment when fine dining is being roiled by toxic behavior, Nancy’s eight restaurants offer proof that nastiness is no recipe for success.
—Ruth Reichl, Time, 15 Apr. 2026
The potential nastiness of this year’s race has led others to be cautious about tossing their hat into the ring.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 8 Apr. 2026
Amanda says she’s stuck by him through the rumors and nastiness, as Meredith Marks would say, and all the terrible things he’s done, but she will not be talked to like that anymore; she’s done.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 1 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, the movie’s villains — played by recognizable faces, among them Heather Graham and Tom Felton — get pretty much zero by way of personality, or even superficial nastiness, making Asia’s reprisals a whole lot less entertaining.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026
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, 3 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nastiness
Noun
-
Actual malice is the legal standard by which courts determine if someone is liable for libel.—
Keely Bastow,
The Washington Examiner,
25 Apr. 2026
-
However, the evidence of actual malice does not approach the clear and convincing standard.—
Julie Sharp,
CBS News,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
There are no great surprises from here on out, though the sheer, lusty grossness of the fallout is occasionally startling.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
16 Apr. 2026
-
If an exclamation point only signified gore and grossness, this gothic rock opera would more than qualify.—
Rachel Simon,
Vulture,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Hence, iron likely provides the structural integrity needed to hold struggling prey long enough for the venom to take effect.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Movement can help venom spread through the body.—
Cody Godwin,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In addition, prosecutors say swastikas, antisemitic slogans and vulgarity were spray-painted on pillars underneath M-53 and Canal, a brick wall near a business and an electrical box at a second business.—
Joseph Buczek,
CBS News,
22 Apr. 2026
-
His vulgarity, insults and threats do not make America great.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
An earnest, has-a-costume-for-everything kind of guy, Daub is allergic to the greige and the dinge.—
Sandra Upson,
Wired,
18 Jan. 2021
-
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.—
Michael Nedelman,
CNN,
1 June 2017
Noun
-
In the centuries since colonists waged war against the crown, American’s attitudes toward the royals have shifted from hatred to adoration.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
-
But the War on Terror persisted and mutated into nightmares in Iraq and Afghanistan, and then Syria, which unleashed that darkness in the form of terrorist states and a refugee crisis that spread anti-Muslim and anti-migrant hatred to Europe, the United States, and beyond.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
By harnessing a particle accelerator to generate extraordinarily bright, coherent X-rays, the team was able to capture high-resolution internal anatomy in seconds, without the lengthy staining or other preprocessing steps often required for soft-tissue contrast in standard lab scanners.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Using chemical imaging techniques, researchers attempted to determine whether the staining was intentional or accidental.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Initially, the couple was arrested on charges of first-degree manslaughter, first-degree unlawful restraint, intentional cruelty to persons, risk of injury to a minor and conspiracy to commit risk of injury to a minor.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
28 Apr. 2026
-
There was a particular cruelty in having lived with her hearing for 28 years before losing it.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nastiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nastiness. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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