nefarious
/nɪˈfɛəɹi.əs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.00 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics.
Example Sentences
- "Aliens have a nefarious connotation in many science fiction books."
- ""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.""
- "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.""
- "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."
- "“I try to let everyone back here in Minnesota know exactly the nefarious activities that are taking place in Washington.”"
Etymology
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”).
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: nefārius
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /nɪˈfɛəɹi.əs/
- British English: /nɪˈfɛəɹi.əs/
Inflected Forms
more nefarious (comparative)
most nefarious (superlative)