Definition of 'nefarious'
adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
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Word Frequency
nefarious in British English
Derived forms
nefariously (neˈfariously) adverb
nefariousness (neˈfariousness)
noun
Word origin
C17: from Latin nefārius, from nefās unlawful deed, from nē not + fās divine law
Word Frequency
nefarious in American English
adjective
very wicked; villainous; iniquitous
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
nefariously (neˈfariously)
adverb
nefariousness (neˈfariousness)
noun
Word origin
L nefarius < nefas, crime, sin < ne-, not + fas, (divine) law, lawful
Word Frequency
nefarious in American English
(nɪˈfɛəriəs)
adjective
SYNONYMS flagitious, heinous, infamous; vile, atrocious, execrableANTONYMS good, honest extremely wicked or villainous; iniquitous
a nefarious plot
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
nefariously adverb
nefariousness
noun
Word origin
[1595–1605; ‹ L nefārius wicked, vile, equiv. to nefās offense against divine or moral law (ne- negative prefix + fās law, right) + -ius -ious, with intervocalic s ˃ r]Examples of 'nefarious' in a sentence
nefarious
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Definition of nefarious from the Collins English Dictionary
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