as in evil
not conforming to a high moral standard; morally unacceptable
the chaste heroines and nefarious villains of old-time melodramas
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Recent Examples of nefarious
Nashville Church of Christ claims the inquiry is a consequence of a nefarious conspiracy devised by those former congregants.
—
Liam Adams, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
Those steps mitigate the risk of nefarious actors getting access to a physical device, leading to serious, and reputation-harming, incidents, Uenuma said.
—Bob Woods, CNBC, 20 Aug. 2025
Later, when the resort town's dark side is revealed, its history as a criminal waystation is connected to its accessibility to nefarious goods and bad guys coming down from Canada.
—Chris Foran, jsonline.com, 18 Aug. 2025
Obviously, with the way sports gambling has been legalized, to help reduce some temptation for our guys to give away any kind of information to nefarious characters who might be reaching out.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nefarious
Liam Adams, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
Those steps mitigate the risk of nefarious actors getting access to a physical device, leading to serious, and reputation-harming, incidents, Uenuma said.
—Bob Woods, CNBC, 20 Aug. 2025
Later, when the resort town's dark side is revealed, its history as a criminal waystation is connected to its accessibility to nefarious goods and bad guys coming down from Canada.
—Chris Foran, jsonline.com, 18 Aug. 2025
Obviously, with the way sports gambling has been legalized, to help reduce some temptation for our guys to give away any kind of information to nefarious characters who might be reaching out.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nefarious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nefarious
Adjective
-
When her mother leaves the room for a moment, she's accosted by a demonic entity that toys with her through funhouse-style reflections, creating this evil doppelganger of Judy.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Sep. 2025
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The city has been taken over by a bunch of evil gangs and so the nerdy Scott Pilgrim and his pals, including Ramona Flowers and Lucas Lee come to the rescue.—
Joshua Lamb,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The reversal of a century of progress in human rights — the unlawful oppression of the foreigner, the poor and the distressed — seems to be the new American way.—
Ciera Bates-Chamberlain,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Aug. 2025
-
Guevara, who came to the US from El Salvador in 2004, was charged with improperly entering a pedestrian roadway, obstruction of law enforcement officers and unlawful assembly.—
Nicquel Terry Ellis,
CNN Money,
30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
This folly—which Iran has sternly warned against—is immoral, unjustified, and unlawful.—
Amira El-Fekki,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Sep. 2025
-
To argue that their mere presence is proof that the book is dangerous or its author must be as immoral as his characters misses the point.—
Kevin Dickinson,
Big Think,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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In an important variation, medieval soldiers returning from war regularly spent an extended period of penance in monasteries – a recognition of Catholicism’s teaching that any war is inherently sinful.—
Timothy Gabrielli,
The Conversation,
25 Aug. 2025
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Don’t dream of leaving without ordering a gigantic slice of the coconut cake with cream cheese frosting—sinful and certainly comforting.—
Steve Forbes,
Forbes.com,
30 July 2025
Adjective
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Just as the Kremlin sought to quell dissent against its vicious campaign in the restive republic, so, too, has a deafening silence accompanied its Ukraine folly.—
Christopher Vourlias,
Variety,
31 Aug. 2025
-
Set against a backdrop of vicious infighting between rival Scottish clans, the prequel began in wake of the sudden death of Ellen’s father, Red Jacob (Peter Mullan), who was the leader of Clan MacKenzie.—
Max Gao,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
What's more, monsters like Alex Jones, the vile conspiracy theorist, claimed the shooting never happened and that the families of the victims were actors.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
29 Aug. 2025
-
His motives seemed as vile as his actions.—
Scott Maxwell,
The Orlando Sentinel,
12 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Kraus also had a dark backpack on her person.—
Amaris Encinas,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
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Lakshmi shared a photo and video of herself at the beach wearing a dark pink bikini while playing in the water.—
Angel Saunders,
People.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
This was a classic Smith performance with tons of yardage and some risky throws with both good and bad results.—
Mike Sando,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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You were called something much worse, and [it was] accepted.—
Brenton Blanchet,
PEOPLE,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nefarious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nefarious. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.
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