What does nastily mean?
“Nastily” is an adverb meaning in a cruel, vicious, or unkind manner. It often describes behavior that is deliberately hostile, such as insults, threats, or attacks, although it can also be used informally to emphasize that something is very unpleasant or goes very badly. For example, someone may say that a person “spoke nastily” or that the weather “turned nastily cold.” The word is understood in both British and American English and is related to the adjective “nasty.” Although it can sound blunt, it is a useful and emphatic way to characterize unpleasant conduct or a seriously bad outcome.
adverbIn a nasty, unkind, cruel, or vicious manner. It can also mean very badly or unpleasantly, especially when describing how an action is performed or how something goes.
- In a cruel, unkind, vicious, or spiteful manner.
- Very badly or unpleasantly; for example, “The weather turned nastily cold.”
"The child was punished for behaving nastily toward his younger brother."
"The two rivals continued to insult each other nastily throughout the debate."
"The road became badly iced, and the car skidded nastily on the hill."
Sometimes the sharpest description of a person’s behavior is a single adverb: they acted nastily.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does nastily come from?
The adverb is formed from the adjective “nasty” with the suffix “-ly,” a standard way of turning an adjective into an adverb. The deeper origin of “nasty” is uncertain, and its historical development is not clear enough to state with confidence. Modern related forms include “nastier,” “nastiest,” and the noun “nastiness.”
Related word forms
How nastily is actually used
The word is commonly used for deliberately cruel or unkind behavior, but it can also describe a very unpleasant result or experience. It is more emphatic than simply saying someone acted badly.
Easily confused with nastily
“Nasty” is the adjective describing something unkind, unpleasant, or difficult, whereas “nastily” describes the manner in which an action is performed.