naughty
naugh·ty/ˈnɔːti/adjective
naughty is spelled N-A-U-G-H-T-Y: 7 letters and 2 syllables (naugh·ty). It appears 6.8 times per million words in written English, the 9,165th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, naughty means “Mischievous; tending to misbehave or act badly (especially of a child)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in naughty?
| Letters | 7: N-A-U-G-H-T-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: naugh·ty |
| In writing | 6.8 times per million words; the 9,165th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is naughty?
Naughty appears 6.8 times per million words in written English, the 9,165th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce naughty?
- UK /ˈnɔːti/
- British /ˈnoːtɪj/
- /ˈnɔti/
Naughty has 2 syllables, split naugh·ty in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-naughty.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with naughty?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as naughty from its last stressed vowel (/ɔti/, British pronunciation):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of naughty
- naughtier comparative
- naughtiest superlative
- noughty
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does naughty mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Mischievous; tending to misbehave or act badly (especially of a child).
Some naughty boys at school hid the teacher's lesson notes.
- 2
Sexually provocative; now in weakened sense, risqué, cheeky.
I bought some naughty lingerie for my honeymoon.
- 3
informalDecadent, had as indulgence, especially an unhealthy one.
- 4
archaicEvil, wicked, morally reprehensible.
- 5
obsoleteBad, worthless, substandard.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Naughty in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | malicieux, malin, méchant, vilain , osé |
| German | ungezogen, unartig, ungehorsam, dreist, frech |
| Portuguese | travesso, levado , safado |
| Spanish | travieso, maleducado, malcriado, maldoso, malulo, sajurín |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does naughty come from?
From late Middle English noughti, naughty (“evil, immoral, wicked”), from nought (“evil, immoral”) + -ī̆ (suffix forming adjectives). Analysable as naught + -y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).