nastyass
American slang with several overlapping but distinct senses: meaning impressively badass (positive, similar to 'nasty' in hip-hop), loathsome or contemptible (derogatory), or simply disgusting (general use).
Etymology timeline
Born ~1990 · no dated citations yetDefinitions
American slang with several overlapping but distinct senses: meaning impressively badass (positive, similar to 'nasty' in hip-hop), loathsome or contemptible (derogatory), or simply disgusting (general use). Context and tone resolve which sense is intended -- 'nastyass moves' on a basketball court is a compliment; 'nastyass behavior' is condemnation. It is 'nasty' with 'ass' functioning as an emphatic intensifier suffix. Context resolves the apparent contradiction between its senses.
She had a nastyass jump shot that nobody in the league could stop.
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US slang with a double life: it can mean something or someone disgusting and repulsive, but it can also flip into a compliment meaning impressively tough, fierce, or badass. Context and tone do all the work. Call someone's cooking nastyass and you might mean it's revolting — or, in the right crowd, that it's outrageously good. The ambiguity is part of its swagger. Common in hip-hop slang and casual street speech.
That nastyass crossover he threw down had the whole gym going wild.
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(US, slang) disgusting, gross.
“Retrieved 8 May 2014. ## External links - [_The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger_ (original narration by Randall)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r7wHMg5Yjg) - [Twitter page for Randall](https://twitter.com/Randallsanimals) - [Mobile app on iTunes](https://web.archive.org/web/20120111141001/http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-honey-badger-dont-care/id484149725?mt=8)”
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(US, slang, derogatory) loathsome, contemptible.
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(US, slang) badass.
"nastyass" means badass. It is one of many casual words teens pick up from friends, social media, music or sport, and on its own it carries no particular warning. If you hear your teen use it, it is fair to ask what they mean by it in their friend group, since meanings drift quickly. Asking out of curiosity rather than alarm tends to keep the conversation open and useful.
"nastyass" is informal English meaning badass. It is mainly used in North American English. A more formal or neutral equivalent would be something like "badass" expressed in standard vocabulary. A common mistake is to assume "nastyass" can replace its standard equivalent in every register; keep it for spoken or casual situations and use the formal form in writing. If you are a B2 or C1 learner, it is useful to recognise this word when you hear or read it, but think carefully about whether the situation really calls for it before using it yourself.
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