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
Relevance
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
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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More than avoiding malice, we are called to take responsibility for the impact of our words.—
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Understand that controlling behaviors may stem from fear and insecurity rather than malice.—
Noun
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In fact, plenty of other things in your home surpass the toilet in terms of grossness.—
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Brain rot has become unavoidable, its grossness ubiquitous.—
Noun
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Networks and stations should know that such venom could now carry sizable public pushback.—
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Despite being the most abundant, their venom is not very potent, the wildlife agency said.—
Noun
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Many of the European players were subjected to dreadful abuse from the galleries, unprintable vulgarities and some deeply personal insults.—
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Many of the racist, nativist vulgarities spoken out loud in Paul Thomas Anderson’s marvelous new film One Battle After Another evoke sentiments that, in our world, first fomented online.—
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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And hatred rather than ideology is the animating force?—
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More violence, more anger, more hatred.—
Noun
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This will avoid causing damage to the sealant and potential staining.—
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Critically, the ancient teeth from betel nut chewers are distinguishable because of red staining.—
Noun
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As the population dwindled, Spanish cruelty increased.—
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Stein faces a charge of cruelty to an animal with serious bodily injury, Fort Worth police said.—
Cite this Entry
“Nastiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nastiness. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
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