nefarious

[ ni-fair-ee-uhs ]

/ nɪˈfɛər i əs /

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See synonyms for: nefarious / nefariousness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

extremely wicked or villainous; iniquitous: a nefarious plot.

OTHER WORDS FOR nefarious

flagitious, heinous, infamous; vile, atrocious, execrable.

See synonyms for nefarious on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR nefarious

good, honest.

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Origin of nefarious

1595–1605; <Latin nefārius wicked, vile, equivalent to nefās offense against divine or moral law (ne- negative prefix + fās law, right) + -ius-ious, with intervocalic s>r

OTHER WORDS FROM nefarious

ne·far·i·ous·ly, adverbne·far·i·ous·ness, nounun·ne·far·i·ous, adjectiveun·ne·far·i·ous·ly, adverb

un·ne·far·i·ous·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use nefarious in a sentence

Williams said he’d become increasingly aware of what he believed were intentional efforts by nefarious actors to push the site’s boundaries.
TheDonald’s owner speaks out on why he finally pulled plug on hate-filled site|Craig Timberg, Drew Harwell|February 5, 2021|Washington Post
The United States cannot dismiss China’s nefarious behavior in Hong Kong or Xinjiang, its adventurous actions in the South China Sea or its illegal trade practices.
Defeating today’s top threats requires rethinking our idea of national security|Melvyn Leffler|January 26, 2021|Washington Post
There was never robust evidence of any such threat, but it was nonetheless effective at casting immigrants to the United States in a more nefarious light.
No, there’s no substantive evidence that the Capitol riot was spurred by antifa|Philip Bump, Dalton Bennett|January 7, 2021|Washington Post
While the nefarious software plagues e-commerce sites all year long, so-called “Grinch Bots” are especially active over the holidays, snatching up the season’s hottest gifts.
Bots are buying up the season’s hottest gifts before you can|Teresa Carr|December 1, 2020|Quartz

If you believe that the influx of links is indeed the result of nefarious intentions, you have a few options to repair the damage, and hopefully, before Google penalizes your site.
The anatomy of a negative SEO attack|Manick Bhan|November 26, 2020|Search Engine Watch
If the Government had not nefariously interposed, it could not have passed.
Charles Sumner; his complete works, volume 5 (of 20)|Charles Sumner
Hull was in possession, and refused to yield an acre of the lands he had so nefariously acquired.
Masterpieces of Mystery|Various
I had, in fact, got to the point of attempting nefariously to avail myself of its services.
Tom, Dick and Harry|Talbot Baines Reed
Death is discovered nefariously at work adulterating the spirit-casks with vitriol and aquafortis.
Rowlandson the Caricaturist. Second Volume|Joseph Grego
And then it is very possible it may not be found at all; some person in the mean time having nefariously carried it off.
The Ladies' Guide to True Politeness and Perfect Manners|Eliza Leslie

British Dictionary definitions for nefarious

nefarious

/ (nɪˈfɛərɪəs) /

adjective

evil; wicked; sinful

Derived forms of nefarious

nefariously, adverbnefariousness, noun

Word Origin for nefarious

C17: from Latin nefārius, from nefās unlawful deed, from nē not + fās divine law

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

nefarious

OTHER WORDS FOR nefarious

OPPOSITES FOR nefarious

Origin of nefarious

OTHER WORDS FROM nefarious

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How to use nefarious in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for nefarious

Derived forms of nefarious

Word Origin for nefarious