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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nastiness
Noun
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But Davis left it to a jury to eventually decide whether that was done with malice, and, if so, how much Dominion deserved from Newsmax in damages.—
Nicholas Riccardi,
Denver Post,
18 Aug. 2025 -
Michael Macfarlane, an advisor to family offices navigating generational transitions, points out that risk often accumulates not from malice or neglect, but from habit.—
Francois Botha,
Forbes.com,
10 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The venom from just one snail is hypothesized to have the potential to kill up to 700 humans, according to a report published in the National Library of Medicine.—
Rachael O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Aug. 2025
-
Read more: Customs issues strong warning: Travelers in Florida could lose these ‘privileges’ Scorpion venom Murdock’s post explained that the bottle seized from the traveler arriving from Cuba contained scorpion venom.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
9 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The sour stench of the carcasses was a vulgarity almost too great to bear.—
Nathaniel Rich,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
-
The medieval ideal suggests superstition, ignorance, vulgarity, restlessness, cruelty and religion—all of which fill my soul with horror and loathing.—
Henry Wiencek
July 22,
Literary Hub,
22 July 2025
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
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Grier in particular could be a literal ball-buster, although her characters’ hatred of bad men was often matched by their desire for a good one.—
Katie Rife,
IndieWire,
20 Aug. 2025
-
Hamas doesn't care about the suffering of children, only about weaponizing their pain to spread hatred against Israel.—
Mandy Taheri,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Jake Haro pleaded guilty to willful cruelty to a child following a 2018 arrest, KABC reported.—
Megan Forrester,
ABC News,
22 Aug. 2025
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Three people face animal cruelty charges in connection with a home in Old Saybrook where authorities reportedly found more than 100 dead animals.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
21 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The Denver Nuggets have done quite the job putting together an impressive roster in spite of not exactly playing in one of the NBA's largest media markets.—
Matthew Schmidt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Aug. 2025
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And in spite of the rapid growth of Dental Service Organizations (DSOs) in the U.S. - DSOs own more than 8,000 dental clinics, accounting for 7% of all dental practices - smaller independent practices still make up the majority, which has also impacted AI adoption.—
Alison Coleman,
Forbes.com,
27 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Nastiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nastiness. Accessed 3 Sep. 2025.
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