cattivo

bad

adjective kaht-TEE-voh Less Common

Origin: from Latin captivus, 'captive'

Also means

naughty

Usage Note

Cattivo spans 'bad', 'wicked', and 'naughty', agreeing as cattiva, cattivi, cattive. Of food or smell it means 'off' or 'unpleasant', and of a child 'misbehaving'. Its surprising origin is Latin captivus ('captive'), via the idea of being captive to evil.

Examples

"È stato un cattivo consiglio."

Natural Translation

It was bad advice.

Literal Translation

It was a bad advice.

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