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."
vicious may directly oppose virtuous in implying moral depravity, or may connote malignancy, cruelty, or destructive violence.
a vicious gangster
villainous applies to any evil, depraved, or vile conduct or characteristic.
a villainous assault
iniquitous implies absence of all signs of justice or fairness.
an iniquitous system of taxation
nefarious suggests flagrant breaching of time-honored laws and traditions of conduct.
the nefarious rackets of organized crime
corrupt stresses a loss of moral integrity or probity causing betrayal of principle or sworn obligations.
city hall was rife with corrupt politicians
degenerate suggests having sunk to an especially vicious or enervated condition.
a degenerate regime propped up by foreign powers
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.—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. 1998Three-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 WebPlayers will be able to join Mario on an epic adventure to collect Crystal Stars before the nefarious X-Nauts.—The Arizona Republic, 10 Apr. 2024 Or the items never come at all and retailer saves the purchase information for nefarious use at a later time.—Jasmine Browley, Essence, 4 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for nefarious
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nefarious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Latin nefarius, from nefas crime, from ne- not + fas right, divine law; perhaps akin to Greek themis law, tithenai to place — more at do
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