Looking for negative words starting with N? You’ve landed on the right page, below I’ve put together a list of negative words that start the letter N.
I’ve included some of the more interesting, unusual, and powerful adjectives that have negative implications.
Finding the right words to describe something in the way you want can be very powerful. I hope you find the word(s) you’re looking for, good luck!
30+ Negative Words Starting With N
Nagging – (of a person) constantly harassing someone to do something.
Naive – (of a person or action) showing a lack of experience, wisdom, or judgment.
Narrower – of small width in relation to length.
Nastily – in a nasty ill-tempered manner.
Naughty – (especially of a child) badly behaved; disobedient.
Nauseating – causing or liable to cause a feeling of nausea or disgust; disgusting.
Nebulous – in the form of a cloud or haze; hazy.
Needlessly – in a way that is unnecessary because it is avoidable.
Needy – (of a person) lacking the necessities of life; very poor.
Nefarious – (typically of an action or activity) wicked or criminal.
Negate – make ineffective; nullify.
Negative – consisting in or characterized by the absence rather than the presence of distinguishing features.
Neglect – fail to care for properly.
Negligence – failure to take proper care over something.
Nemesis – the inescapable agent of someone’s or something’s downfall.
Nepotism – the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs.
Nervous – easily agitated or alarmed.
Nettlesome – causing annoyance or difficulty.
Neurotic – having, caused by, or relating to neurosis.
Niggle – cause slight but persistent annoyance, discomfort, or anxiety.
Nightmare – a frightening or unpleasant dream.
Nitpick – engage in fussy or pedantic fault-finding.
Noise – a sound, especially one that is loud or unpleasant or that causes disturbance.
Nonexistent – not existing or not real or present.
Nonsense – spoken or written words that have no meaning or make no sense.
Nosey – showing too much curiosity about other people’s affairs.
Notoriously – used to emphasize that a quality or fact, typically a bad one, is well known.
Noxious – harmful, poisonous, or very unpleasant.
Nuisance – a person or thing causing inconvenience or annoyance.
Numb – (of a part of the body) deprived of the power of physical sensation.
Are there any negative words beginning with the letter N you think should be on this list? Drop me a comment, I’m always open to adding more words – thanks!
If you want to find more negative words starting with a different letter of the alphabet, just click one of the letters below:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I |
J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R |
S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
Image credits – Photo by Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash

Phil lives in England, UK, and has around 20 years experience as a professional life, career and executive coach. He started this blog to help others find and define their own self development journey. Blogging about a wide range of topics to help facilitate a better future.