nefarious
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- nefariously adverb
- nefariousness noun
- unnefarious adjective
- unnefariously adverb
- unnefariousness noun
Etymology
Origin of nefarious
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin nefārius “wicked, vile,” equivalent to nefās “offense against divine or moral law” (from ne-, negative prefix + fās “law, right”) + -ius -ious
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
What measures are you proactively taking to ensure your personal data isn’t used for nefarious means?
From Salon
Web tracking, aside from having nefarious connotations, can drain your device of battery — but with this tool, you can browse up to 44% faster, use up to 39% less bandwidth and greatly improve battery life.
From Salon
And you may or may not have been given my number as part of my ex-friend’s nefarious revenge plot.
From Literature
“There is nothing nefarious” about the IRS taking time to build solid cases to find and collect owed tax money, federal attorneys told the circuit-court judges.
From MarketWatch
It’s “a persistent pattern generally attached to nefarious tricks such as channel stuffing, aggressive revenue recognition or extended payment terms used as sales concessions,” Burry said in a recent Substack post.
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
