When I see the word nefarious, meaning "wicked, evil, dastardly, deeply villainous," I immediately think of Dr. Nefario, who helps Gru steal the moon. Nefarious, indeed!

Let's round up some more aptly-named villains.

See if you can use your knowledge of the terms gambit, insidious, maleficent, Ozymandian, and Rorschach test to match the five villains described below to their names, listed further below.

Ready?

1. This villain attacks people with playing cards.
2. This villain hides their true identity.
3. This villain is pure evil, with a heart of stone.
4. This villain lays waste to a vast portion of the world.
5. This villain wears an inkblot mask and sees humans as purely good or evil.

A. Darth Sidious
B. Gambit
C. Maleficent
D. Ozymandias
E. Rorschach

Got your answers? Ready to check them? Scroll down...

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1B, because a gambit is a strategic move in a game; 
2A, because insidious people are sneaky;
3C, because maleficence is pure evil;
4D, because Ozymandias represents decay and destruction;
5E, because Rorschach tests invite you to interpret inkblots.

How'd you do?

"Nefarious" comes from the Latin nefarius, meaning "evil, wicked, abominable." This nefarius breaks down into the bits ne, "not;" and fas, "to say," which together mean "not divinely spoken: not legal, not lawful, not moral, not right."

That's what it means in English, too. Since the year 1567 or so, we've used the word "nefarious" to describe things and people that are truly evil, terribly wicked, or deeply offensive to our sense of what's morally right.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Adjective: "their nefarious intentions;" "Their purpose wasn't exactly nefarious;" "Finally, I've gripped you in my nefarious clutches."

Other forms: 

nefariously, nefariousness

how to use it:

Pick the formal, semi-common word "nefarious" when you want to call extra attention to someone or something extremely vile or wicked. By calling something nefarious, you're saying that it's not just evil, but that it's cartoonishly, villainously, obviously, inarguably evil.

Clearly, it's a dramatic word! So, talk about nefarious plots, plans, schemes, intentions, purposes, etc.

Or, use the word lightheartedly for humor and exaggeration, like in the two examples below.

examples:

"When she had developed [the computer program], she had built a back door into the code, a way to let her circumvent the security system. She hadn't done this for any nefarious reasons; she had simply thought it would be fun." 
   — Stuart Gibbs, Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation, 2019

"There's no way you're quitting Dream & Bean coffee.'
'Oh hell no. I'm quitting drinking it in front of Samantha. What she doesn't know won't hurt.'
'Only you could make drinking coffee sound nefarious.'"
   — Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera, What If It's Us, 2018

has this page helped you understand "nefarious"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "nefarious" without saying "evil" or "wicked."

try it out:

In Thank You For Arguing, Jay Heinrichs describes a common rhetorical tactic that he calls  the "identity strategy." Using this tactic, the speaker gets the listeners to identify with him, making them feel like they all belong to the same group, with shared values.

Heinrichs says, "The identity strategy is one of the chief ways that advertisers, politicians, salespeople, and nearly every other nefarious element in society manipulate us."

It's an interesting point, but let's actually back up and look at his premise. Do you agree with his assumption that "advertisers, politicians, [and] salespeople" are all nefarious? Why or why not? And, if you'd like to address his main point, do you agree that the identity strategy is easy to use for nefarious purposes? If so, how?

If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.)

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for February: Word Choice Chuckles!

I’ll give you a snippet of text that I spotted in the wild, with one word or phrase removed and its meaning described. See if you can fill in a word or phrase that'll give the reader a good chuckle. Be cheesy. Be punny. Get in there and make me proud.

Here's an example:

"This comes at a time of _____ in the mattress industry." 
   — Dan Solomon, Texas Monthly, 15 December 2017

Meaning of the missing word: "strife."

Answer: "unrest."

Try this one today:

"Meat-and-Potatoes Man _____s His Friend's Vegan Cooking"
   — Abigail Van Buren, Dear Abby, 12 October 2017

Meaning of the missing word: "judges as inadequate."

To see the answer, scroll all the way down.

review this word:

1. A near opposite of NEFARIOUS is

A. EASY.
B. GOOD.
C. CORRECT.

2. Disney has perfected the _____ song, that delicious uptempo number crammed with nefarious details.

A. flashback
B. montage
C. villain

Answers to the review questions: 1. B 2. C Word Choice Chuckle: "Meat-and-Potatoes Man Pans His Friend's Vegan Cooking"    — Abigail Van Buren, Dear Abby, 12 October 2017

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.