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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."
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. 1998
Three-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
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. 1998
Three-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 Web
But what other word applies to Jane (Nicole Brydon Bloom), a character willing to go to great and nefarious measures just to obtain a Wii?
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2025
Long Soldier’s poems make clear that the language used in governmental apologies is just as performative as that of the nefarious declarations that attempted (unsuccessfully) to dismantle Plains social structures.
—Melissa Ragain, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2025
She’s dropped onto a hostile alien planet filled with space pirates who are dabbling with biotechnology - for nefarious reasons, of course.
—Joshua Lamb, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
The assumption was that line cops would be kinder and gentler if they were liberated from the nefarious influence of bad chiefs.
—Marc J. Dunkelman, TIME, 27 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nefarious
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Keith Phipps, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2025
Long Soldier’s poems make clear that the language used in governmental apologies is just as performative as that of the nefarious declarations that attempted (unsuccessfully) to dismantle Plains social structures.
—Melissa Ragain, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2025
She’s dropped onto a hostile alien planet filled with space pirates who are dabbling with biotechnology - for nefarious reasons, of course.
—Joshua Lamb, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
The assumption was that line cops would be kinder and gentler if they were liberated from the nefarious influence of bad chiefs.
—Marc J. Dunkelman, TIME, 27 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nefarious
Cite this Entry
“Nefarious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nefarious. Accessed 9 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
nefarious
adjective
ne·far·i·ous
ni-ˈfar-ē-əs 
-ˈfer-
: very wicked : evil
nefariously
adverb
nefariousness
noun
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