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What Is the Difference Between vicious, villainous, and nefarious?
Nefarious comes from the Latin adjective nefarius and the Latin noun nefas, which means "crime." Nefas is a combination of ne- ("not") and fas, meaning "right" or "divine law."
Examples of nefarious in a Sentence
Moreover, those starry-eyed states inclined to perceive international relations in moral terms frequently underestimate the nefarious machinations of their competitors on the world political stage.
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Richard Wolin, New Republic, 4 June 2001
… I always give the same response: Just because Frank posed for pictures with every leading capo, underboss and cement contractor of the day doesn't mean that he joined them in their nefarious underworld activities. Oh, occasionally he rode along on a hit or two, but that was just one of those social obligations …
—Lewis Grossberger, Time, 21 Dec. 1998
Three-tenths of a mile uphill from our mailbox on the road, that bend is so nefarious that neophytes often skidded into a snowbank or wound up fender-deep in mud there.
—Maxine Kumin, In Deep, 1987
a nefarious scheme to cheat people out of their money
the chaste heroines and nefarious villains of old-time melodramas
Richard Wolin, New Republic, 4 June 2001
… I always give the same response: Just because Frank posed for pictures with every leading capo, underboss and cement contractor of the day doesn't mean that he joined them in their nefarious underworld activities. Oh, occasionally he rode along on a hit or two, but that was just one of those social obligations …
—Lewis Grossberger, Time, 21 Dec. 1998
Three-tenths of a mile uphill from our mailbox on the road, that bend is so nefarious that neophytes often skidded into a snowbank or wound up fender-deep in mud there.
—Maxine Kumin, In Deep, 1987
a nefarious scheme to cheat people out of their money
the chaste heroines and nefarious villains of old-time melodramas
Recent Examples on the Web
In a very short period of time, Trump had decided to go back in time to roughly 100 years ago when Europe meant nothing to us other than rapacious capitalists and communists all out to get us and drag us in to their nefarious ways.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 27 May 2025
Anyone with the belief that something nefarious happened at the Masters simply does not understand the sport.
—Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 May 2025
There are still many unanswered questions about this nefarious trove, including who compiled it and why.
—Emily Forlini, PC Magazine, 22 May 2025
The movement's back-against-the-wall mentality is kicking up fresh suspicions that nefarious government actors are out to stall President Trump's agenda.
—Tal Axelrod, Axios, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for nefarious
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Jim Cramer, CNBC, 27 May 2025
Anyone with the belief that something nefarious happened at the Masters simply does not understand the sport.
—Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 May 2025
There are still many unanswered questions about this nefarious trove, including who compiled it and why.
—Emily Forlini, PC Magazine, 22 May 2025
The movement's back-against-the-wall mentality is kicking up fresh suspicions that nefarious government actors are out to stall President Trump's agenda.
—Tal Axelrod, Axios, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for nefarious
Cite this Entry
“Nefarious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nefarious. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
nefarious
adjective
ne·far·i·ous
ni-ˈfar-ē-əs 
-ˈfer-
: very wicked : evil
nefariously
adverb
nefariousness
noun
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