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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
But while the power cosmic itself can be deadly for drama, the fact that a child possesses this power has also proved to be a fertile creative engine in Marvel comics, attracting all manner of villains bent on manipulating Franklin into their own nefarious machinations.
—Adam B. Vary, Variety, 26 July 2025
And the story just started changing from police doing nefarious things to these young girls to really looking at the girls themselves.
—Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 25 July 2025
The casting reveal indicates that there’s some lore on its origins (which seem pretty nefarious, to say the least) in store for Season 2.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 25 July 2025
The next several years of WCW’s programming were dominated by the NWO, Bollea and the cast of WCW stars attempting to save the company from his nefarious control.
—Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 24 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for nefarious
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Adam B. Vary, Variety, 26 July 2025
And the story just started changing from police doing nefarious things to these young girls to really looking at the girls themselves.
—Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 25 July 2025
The casting reveal indicates that there’s some lore on its origins (which seem pretty nefarious, to say the least) in store for Season 2.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 25 July 2025
The next several years of WCW’s programming were dominated by the NWO, Bollea and the cast of WCW stars attempting to save the company from his nefarious control.
—Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 24 July 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 6 Aug. 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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