nefarious

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“
While it doesn't sound (and need not be) nefarious, activist groups worldwide argue that the production of palm oil is currently harming rain forests in Southeast Asia, orangutans, and the environment.

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Definitions (5)

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  1. adjective Infamous by way of being extremely wicked.

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Examples (50)

  • None of that was nefarious, I'm sure; and it might be right. —  RealClimate
  • Next the quotes being out of context thus distorting their meaning in order further the goal of these 'nefarious' Christians ... lets take 2, those of Franklin and Washington. —  Infidel Bloggers Alliance
  • Pakistan would never allow terrorists to use its soil for their nefarious designs, the president said and added that Islamabad would not compromise with the terrorists. —  India eNews
  • A simple correlation does not mean that anything nefarious is going on. —  Inc.com
  • CEATEC today: Toshiba's Media Server -- not to be confused with some kind of nefarious explosive device from an early episode of Doctor Who. —  Medlogs - Recent stories
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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Latin nefārius, from nefās, crime, transgression : ne-, not; see ne in Indo-European roots + fās, divine law; see dhē- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. = Spanish Portuguese Italian nefario, from Latin nefarius, impious, abominable, from nefas, something not according to divine law, impious, execrable, abominable, or wicked, a wicked deed, from ne, not, +. fas, lawful: see fasti. Cf. nefast.
 

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/nəˈfeɪrɪəs/
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