nefarious

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UK/nɪˈfɛəɹi.əs/Canada, US/nɪˈfɛɹ.i.əs/Australia/nɪˈfeːɹi.əs/

adjective

Sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics.

“Aliens have a nefarious connotation in many science fiction books.”

Similar
eviliniquitoussinisterunderhandedvilegood-for-nothingabandonedarrant
OriginLatin nefārius →
Less commonScrabble 12
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Meanings

adjectivenefarious (comparative more nefarious, superlative most nefarious)

comparative more nefarious · superlative most nefarious

  1. Sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics.

    Aliens have a nefarious connotation in many science fiction books.

    4 more examples

    "If the vessel be no fair-trading slaver, nor a common cruiser of his Majesty, it is as tangible as the best man's reasoning, that she may be neither more nor less than the ship of that nefarious pirate the Red Rover."

    1828, James Fenimore Cooper, chapter 2, in The Red Rover

    Mommsen […]declares that Catiline in particular was "one of the most nefarious men in that nefarious age. His villanies belong to the criminal records, not to history."

    1877, Anthony Trollope, chapter 9, in The Life of Cicero

    The fact that the room was still in darkness made it obvious that something nefarious was afoot. Plainly there was dirty work in preparation at the cross-roads.

    1921, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 26, in The Indiscretions of Archie

    “I try to let everyone back here in Minnesota know exactly the nefarious activities that are taking place in Washington.”

    2009 October 14, Monica Davey, “Fact Checker Finds Falsehoods in Remarks”, in New York Times, retrieved 12 May 2014

    Synonyms: evil, iniquitous, sinister, underhanded, vile, good-for-nothing, abandoned, arrant

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveSinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics.

Similar
eviliniquitoussinisterunderhandedvilegood-for-nothingabandonedarrantbadbad applebad seedbalefulscurrilousbanefulbaseblack-hearteddarkdeleteriousdemonicdepraved

More synonyms by meaning

adjectiveextremely wicked

Similar
villainouswicked
Also see
devilishdisreputableevilflagitiousill-famedinfamousiniquitousnidderingnotoriousvillainouswicked

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinnefārius“execrable, abominable”
  2. Englishnefarious

From Latin nefārius (“execrable, abominable”), from nefās (“something contrary to divine law, an impious deed, sin, crime”), from ne- (“not”) + fās (“the dictates of religion, divine law”), which is related to Latin for (“to speak, to say”) and cognate to Ancient Greek φημί (phēmí, “to say”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic شَائِن
  • شَائِن (šāʔin)sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
Bulgarian престъпен
  • престъпен (prestăpen)sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
Czech podlý, nekalý
  • podlýsinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • nekalýsinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • hanebnýsinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
Dutch berucht, schandelijk
  • beruchtsinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • schandelijksinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • misdadigsinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
Esperanto skandala, malfarinda
  • skandalasinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • malfarindasinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
Finnish paheellinen, paha
  • paheellinensinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • pahasinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • pirullinensinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • turmeltunutsinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • katalasinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
French infâme, malfaisant
  • infâmesinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • malfaisantsinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • néfastesinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • maléfiquesinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • malveillantsinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
German berüchtigt, schändlich
  • berüchtigtsinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • schändlichsinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • ruchlossinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • verachtenswertsinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • bösartigsinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • bösesinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
Hungarian gyalázatos, alávaló
  • gyalázatossinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • alávalósinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
Irish bithiúnta
  • bithiúntasinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
Italian nefasto, scellerato
  • nefastosinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • scelleratosinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • diabolicosinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • infernalesinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • sinistrosinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
Korean 사악(邪惡)하다
  • 사악(邪惡)하다 (saakhada)sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
Latin nefārius
  • nefāriussinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
Norwegian Bokmål skjendig, ondsinnet
  • skjendigsinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • ondsinnetsinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • avskyeligsinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • ryggesløssinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
Portuguese nefasto
  • nefastosinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
Romanian abject, infam
  • abjectsinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • infamsinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • păcătossinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • viciossinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
Russian бесче́стный, нече́стный
  • бесче́стный (besčéstnyj)sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • нече́стный (nečéstnyj)sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • ни́зкий (nízkij)sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • гну́сный (gnúsnyj)sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • ме́рзкий (mérzkij)sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • по́длый (pódlyj)sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
Spanish nefario, nefando
  • nefariosinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • nefandosinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • feosinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • infamesinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • viciososinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • malvadosinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • inicuosinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
Swedish skändlig, gudlös
  • skändligsinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • gudlössinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
Ukrainian нечестивий, злочинний
  • нечестивий (nečestyvyj)sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • злочинний (zločynnyj)sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • нечесний (nečesnyj)sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics
  • ниций (nycyj)sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with nefarious

varioushilariousAquariusprecariouscalcareousvicariousStradivariusmultifariouscariousBelisariusscopariuslibrariusmalariousacinariousadversariousanticariousapocrisariusapocrisiariusarbitrariousarenariousargillocalcareousarmariusassariusatrabilarious
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

nefarious. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nefarious

MLA

“nefarious.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nefarious. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nefarious,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nefarious.

Source: nefarious on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.