English Online Dictionary. What means naughty? What does naughty mean?
English
Etymology
From late Middle English noughti, naughty (“evil, immoral, wicked”), from nought (“evil, immoral”) + -ī̆ (suffix forming adjectives). Analysable as naught + -y.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈnɔːti/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈnɔti/, [ˈnɔɾi]
- (cot–caught merger) IPA(key): /ˈnɑti/, [ˈnɑɾi]
- Rhymes: -ɔːti
- Hyphenation: naugh‧ty
- Homophones: knotty (cot–caught merger); noddy (cot–caught merger, flapping)
Adjective
naughty (comparative naughtier, superlative naughtiest)
- Mischievous; tending to misbehave or act badly (especially of a child). [from 17th c.]
- Sexually provocative; now in weakened sense, risqué, cheeky. [from 19th c.]
- (now rare, archaic) Evil, wicked, morally reprehensible. [from 15th c.]
- (obsolete) Bad, worthless, substandard. [16th–19th c.]
Alternative forms
- noughty (archaic or obsolete)
Synonyms
- (immoral, sexually provocative): dirty
- (mischievous): mischievous
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of “immoral; cheeky”): nice
Derived terms
Translations
Verb
naughty (third-person singular simple present naughties, present participle naughtying, simple past and past participle naughtied)
- To perform sexual acts upon.