nas·ty / ˈnastē/ • adj. (-ti·er, -ti·est) 1. highly unpleasant, esp. to the senses; physically nauseating: plastic bags burn with a nasty, acrid smell. ∎  (of the weather) unpleasantly cold or wet: a cold, nasty day. ∎  repugnant to the mind; morally bad: her stories are very nasty, full of murder and violence.2. (of a person or animal) behaving in an unpleasant or spiteful way: Harry was a nasty, foul-mouthed old devil | when she confronted him, he turned nasty. ∎  annoying or unwelcome: life has a nasty habit of repeating itself.3. physically or mentally damaging or harmful: a nasty, vicious-looking hatchet. ∎  (of an injury, illness, or accident) having caused harm; severe: a nasty bang on the head.• n. (pl. -ties) (often nasties) inf. an unpleasant or harmful person or thing: bacteria and other nasties.DERIVATIVES: nas·ti·ly / -təlē/ adv.nas·ti·ness n.

nasty something nasty in the woodshed a traumatic experience or a concealed unpleasantness in a person's background. The phrase comes from Stella Gibbons' comic novel Cold Comfort Farm (1932), in which Ada Doom's dominance over her family is maintained by constant references to her having ‘seen something nasty in the woodshed’ in her youth; the details of the experience remain unexplained.

See also cheap and nasty, a nasty taste in one's mouth.

nasty filthy, dirty XIV; nauseous XVI; (of weather) foul, dirty XVII; offensive XVIII; illnatured XIX. Early vars. †naxty, †naxte, which with †naskie (XVII) suggest ult. derivation from an obscure base *nask- (*nax-), which appears also in Sw. dial. naskug, nasket dirty, nasty; see -Y1.

nasty(adj.nastic) The response of a plant organ to a non-directional stimulus (e.g. the opening or closing of flowers in response to changes in light intensity or temperature). The plant may respond by changes in cell growth or changes in turgor.

nasty The response of a plant organ to a non-directional stimulus (e.g. the opening or closing of flowers in response to changes in light intensity or temperature). The plant may respond by changes in cell growth or changes in turgor.