Synonyms for nefarious
nɪˈfɛər i əsne·far·i·ous

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:1.0 / 2 votes

1. nefariousadjective

   Synonyms:
   vicious, wicked, evil

2. nefariousadjective

   infamous for being wicked

   The nefarious wizard was known for burning people alive during his secret rituals.

   Synonyms:
   wicked, evil, vicious

3. nefariousadjective

   wicked or criminal

   The nefarious gangster was finally brought to justice.

   Synonyms:
   vicious, evil, wicked

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:1.0 / 1 vote

1. nefarious

   Every criminal act is illegal or unlawful, but illegal or unlawful acts may not be criminal. Offenses against public law are criminal; offenses against private rights are merely illegal or unlawful. As a general rule, all acts punishable by fine or imprisonment or both, are criminal in view of the law. It is illegal for a man to trespass on another's land, but it is not criminal; the trespasser is liable to a civil suit for damages, but not to indictment, fine, or imprisonment. A felonious act is a criminal act of an aggravated kind, which is punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary or by death. A flagitious crime is one that brings public odium. Vicious refers to the indulgence of evil appetites, habits, or passions; vicious acts are not necessarily criminal, or even illegal; we speak of a vicious horse. That which is iniquitous, i. e., contrary to equity, may sometimes be done under the forms of law. Ingratitude is sinful, hypocrisy is wicked, but neither is punishable by human law; hence, neither is criminal or illegal. Compare SIN.

   Synonyms:
   abominable, criminal, culpable, felonious, flagitious, guilty, illegal, immoral, iniquitous, sinful, unlawful, vicious, vile, wicked, wrong

   Antonyms:
   innocent, just, lawful, legal, meritorious, moral, right, virtuous

Princeton's WordNetRate this synonym:0.0 / 0 votes

1. nefarious, villainousadjective

   extremely wicked

   "nefarious schemes"; "a villainous plot"; "a villainous band of thieves"

   Synonyms:
   villainous

   Antonyms:
   virtuous

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. nefariousadjective

   Synonyms:
   abominable, atrocious, detestable, execrable, iniquitous, scandalous, wicked, infamous, villanous, heinous, flagitious, very wicked

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:3.0 / 1 vote

1. nefariousadjective

   Synonyms:
   atrocious, flagitious, heinous

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "nefarious":

   heinous, evil, infamous, harmful, abominable, abhorrent

Suggested Resources

1. nefarious

   Song lyrics by nefarious -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by nefarious on the Lyrics.com website.

How to pronounce nefarious?

How to say nefarious in sign language?

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

1. [["1563","2"],["1582","1"],["1638","1"],["1645","1"],["1653","2"],["1661","1"],["1665","2"],["1668","2"],["1680","5"],["1681","2"],["1685","1"],["1691","15"],["1698","4"],["1700","2"],["1701","1"],["1702","3"],["1703","1"],["1704","3"],["1705","5"],["1707","2"],["1708","1"],["1709","2"],["1710","3"],["1712","3"],["1713","3"],["1714","1"],["1717","3"],["1720","2"],["1721","2"],["1723","4"],["1725","10"],["1726","1"],["1727","5"],["1728","3"],["1731","2"],["1734","1"],["1735","1"],["1737","6"],["1738","2"],["1740","1"],["1741","1"],["1743","2"],["1745","2"],["1747","3"],["1748","1"],["1749","2"],["1750","6"],["1751","3"],["1752","8"],["1753","2"],["1754","5"],["1755","3"],["1756","9"],["1757","10"],["1758","2"],["1759","4"],["1760","3"],["1761","3"],["1763","2"],["1764","3"],["1765","3"],["1766","6"],["1767","4"],["1768","4"],["1769","7"],["1771","48"],["1772","9"],["1773","1"],["1774","10"],["1775","5"],["1776","13"],["1777","3"],["1778","12"],["1779","6"],["1780","3"],["1781","2"],["1782","4"],["1783","5"],["1784","4"],["1785","4"],["1786","6"],["1787","8"],["1788","9"],["1789","9"],["1790","14"],["1791","16"],["1792","32"],["1793","48"],["1794","53"],["1795","48"],["1796","114"],["1797","94"],["1798","63"],["1799","60"],["1800","123"],["1801","206"],["1802","172"],["1803","168"],["1804","238"],["1805","201"],["1806","242"],["1807","163"],["1808","100"],["1809","157"],["1810","196"],["1811","172"],["1812","216"],["1813","177"],["1814","213"],["1815","209"],["1816","307"],["1817","238"],["1818","268"],["1819","233"],["1820","426"],["1821","366"],["1822","519"],["1823","358"],["1824","297"],["1825","341"],["1826","387"],["1827","443"],["1828","377"],["1829","440"],["1830","388"],["1831","387"],["1832","490"],["1833","447"],["1834","455"],["1835","522"],["1836","512"],["1837","461"],["1838","543"],["1839","650"],["1840","568"],["1841","514"],["1842","516"],["1843","553"],["1844","585"],["1845","571"],["1846","600"],["1847","525"],["1848","625"],["1849","651"],["1850","726"],["1851","744"],["1852","766"],["1853","764"],["1854","739"],["1855","678"],["1856","1051"],["1857","806"],["1858","573"],["1859","583"],["1860","777"],["1861","493"],["1862","354"],["1863","486"],["1864","587"],["1865","612"],["1866","578"],["1867","728"],["1868","569"],["1869","647"],["1870","548"],["1871","495"],["1872","526"],["1873","475"],["1874","578"],["1875","590"],["1876","560"],["1877","603"],["1878","540"],["1879","629"],["1880","805"],["1881","651"],["1882","691"],["1883","895"],["1884","909"],["1885","848"],["1886","740"],["1887","714"],["1888","790"],["1889","642"],["1890","720"],["1891","816"],["1892","902"],["1893","727"],["1894","681"],["1895","777"],["1896","912"],["1897","780"],["1898","915"],["1899","1044"],["1900","1241"],["1901","964"],["1902","901"],["1903","901"],["1904","1019"],["1905","1105"],["1906","1174"],["1907","1027"],["1908","1276"],["1909","1025"],["1910","955"],["1911","945"],["1912","1051"],["1913","933"],["1914","918"],["1915","898"],["1916","894"],["1917","965"],["1918","828"],["1919","1221"],["1920","1133"],["1921","950"],["1922","1109"],["1923","901"],["1924","767"],["1925","918"],["1926","813"],["1927","979"],["1928","996"],["1929","845"],["1930","827"],["1931","939"],["1932","757"],["1933","747"],["1934","732"],["1935","847"],["1936","882"],["1937","883"],["1938","833"],["1939","825"],["1940","691"],["1941","750"],["1942","638"],["1943","554"],["1944","564"],["1945","652"],["1946","802"],["1947","810"],["1948","882"],["1949","917"],["1950","972"],["1951","1014"],["1952","1018"],["1953","869"],["1954","982"],["1955","967"],["1956","1022"],["1957","1028"],["1958","1167"],["1959","1183"],["1960","1227"],["1961","1375"],["1962","1551"],["1963","1553"],["1964","1604"],["1965","1987"],["1966","1966"],["1967","2278"],["1968","2512"],["1969","2698"],["1970","2499"],["1971","2547"],["1972","2374"],["1973","2189"],["1974","2138"],["1975","2114"],["1976","2120"],["1977","2291"],["1978","2129"],["1979","1986"],["1980","2130"],["1981","1946"],["1982","2136"],["1983","1990"],["1984","2343"],["1985","2357"],["1986","2312"],["1987","2600"],["1988","2610"],["1989","2762"],["1990","2986"],["1991","3213"],["1992","3629"],["1993","3402"],["1994","3665"],["1995","4065"],["1996","4491"],["1997","4422"],["1998","5041"],["1999","5303"],["2000","6365"],["2001","6234"],["2002","7294"],["2003","8918"],["2004","9638"],["2005","9517"],["2006","10709"],["2007","11641"],["2008","14939"]]

Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use nefarious in a sentence?

1. Bill Evanina:

   This shows the nefarious mindset of the Communist Party of China, to take advantage of a worldwide crisis like COVID, we put out an advisory to not only every American, but to hospitals, associationsand clinics.

2. Roger Stone:

   I am anxious to rebut allegations that I had any improper or nefarious contact with any agent of the Russia state based on facts -- not misleading and salacious headlines, i am willing to appear voluntarily if the committee isn't looking for the headline of issuing a subpoena.

3. Francis Dodsworth:

   The main problem that people wearing masks throws up is the sheer volume of people suddenly covering their faces, it could create opportunities for people who want to cover their face for nefarious reasons. They could potentially now do so without raising suspicion.

4. Mark Weiss:

   It's my belief that there was probably some type of struggle in the cockpit where it was one of the pilots that maybe had a meltdown or did something nefarious to the airplane.

5. Fox News:

   They’re given these conjured-up quotes, and it comes from a nefarious source. Does this all sound familiar? And it’s not Deep Throat we’re talking about here, it’s a political operative that had an agenda.