naughty
Pronunciation
  • (British) IPA: /ˈnɔːti/
  • (America) IPA: /ˈnɔti/, /ˈnɑti/
Adjective

naughty (comparative naughtier, superlative naughtiest)

  1. Mischievous; tending to misbehave or act badly (especially of a child). [from 17th c.]
    Some naughty boys at school hid the teacher's lesson notes.
  2. Sexually provocative; now in weakened sense, risqué, cheeky. [from 19th c.]
    I bought some naughty lingerie for my honeymoon.
    If I see you send another naughty email to your friends, you will be forbidden from using the computer!
  3. (now rare, archaic) Evil, wicked, morally reprehensible. [from 15th c.]
    • circa 1596-97 William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act V scene i
      […] How far that little candle throws his beams! / So shines a good deed in a naughty world.
    • 1644, John Milton, Areopagitica
      Wholesome meats to a vitiated stomack differ little or nothing from unwholesome; and best books to a naughty mind are not unappliable to occasions of evill.
    • Such as be intemperant, that is, followers of their naughty appetites and lusts.
  4. (obsolete) Bad, worthless, substandard. [16th-19th c.]
Synonyms Antonyms
  • (immoral; cheeky) nice
Translations Translations


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