- pronunciation:
- naw
ti
- features:
- Word History
| part of speech: |
adjective |
| inflections: |
naughtier, naughtiest |
| definition: |
not behaving or obeying; mischievous.
That naughty girl hit her sister.Hiding grandfather's slippers was a naughty thing to do.- synonyms:
- bad, disobedient, misbehaving, mischievous, wicked
- antonyms:
- well-behaved
|
| related words: |
disobedient |
|
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| derivations: |
naughtily (adv.), naughtiness (n.) |
Naughty comes from an early English word that meant "having naught (nothing)," "needy," or "evil." By 1600, "naughty" was no longer a strong enough word to describe an evil person. Around this time, the word was being used for behavior that was disobedient, or for things of poor quality, such as "naughty apples."