nastiness

Everyday

1. Unkind, mean or spiteful behaviour. tree →
2. Being very unpleasant, as in the nastiness of a smell or an illness. tree →

In the lessons

Used in stories, PSHE and everyday talk about bullying and unkind behaviour ("There's no need for nastiness") and to describe how bad something is.

Examples

• There was no need for that nastiness; say sorry. tree →
• The nastiness of the comments online upset her. tree →
• We talked in class about how to stand up to nastiness. tree →
• The nastiness of the smell made us hold our noses. tree →
• Despite the nastiness of the bug, he was better in a week. tree →
• The villain's nastiness grew worse with every chapter. tree →
• Kindness can beat nastiness. tree →

Note

Uncountable. From "nasty" + "-ness": the "y" changes to "i". Adjective "nasty", adverb "nastily".