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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1) - Cite This Source naugh‧ty /ˈnɔti/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective, -ti‧er, -ti‧est. 1. disobedient; mischievous (used esp. in speaking to or about children): Weren't we naughty not to eat our spinach? 2. improper, tasteless, indecorous, or indecent: a naughty word. 3. Obsolete. wicked; evil.
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—Related forms naugh‧ti‧ly, adverb naugh‧ti‧ness, noun
—Synonyms 1. willful, wayward, misbehaving. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source naugh·ty (n�t) Pronunciation Key adj. naugh·ti·er, naugh·ti·est Behaving disobediently or mischievously: a naughty child. Indecent; improper: a naughty wink. Archaic. Wicked; immoral.
n. pl. naugh·ties One that is naughty.
naughti·ly adv. naughti·ness n. Word History: The word naughty at one time was an all-purpose word similar to bad. During the 16th century one could use naughty to mean “unhealthy, unpleasant, bad (with respect to weather), vicious (of an animal), inferior, or bad in quality” (one could say “very naughtie figes” or “naughty corrupt water”). All of these senses have disappeared, however, and naughty is now used mainly in contexts involving mischief or indecency. This recalls its early days in Middle English (with the form noughti), when the word was restricted to the senses “evil, hostile, ineffectual, and needy.” Middle English noughti, first recorded in the last quarter of the 14th century, was derived from nought, which primarily meant “nothing” but was also used as a noun meaning “evil” and as an adjective meaning such things as “immoral, weak, useless.” Thus naughty, in a sense, has risen from nothing, but its fortunes used to be better than they are at present.
(Download Now or Buy the Book) The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. WordNet - Cite This Source naughty
adj 1: suggestive of sexual impropriety; "a blue movie"; "blue jokes"; "he skips asterisks and gives you the gamy details"; "a juicy scandal"; "a naughty wink"; "naughty words"; "racy anecdotes"; "a risque story"; "spicy gossip" 2: badly behaved; "he was saucy and mischievous in school"; "a naughty boy"
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