nefarious
/nɪˈfɛəɹi.əs/adjective
nefarious is spelled N-E-F-A-R-I-O-U-S: 9 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,918th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, nefarious means “Sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in nefarious?
| Letters | 9: N-E-F-A-R-I-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.0 times per million words; the 28,918th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is nefarious?
Nefarious appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,918th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce nefarious?
- US /nɪˈfɛəɹi.əs/
- Australia /nɪˈfeːɹi.əs/
Nefarious has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-nefarious.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with nefarious?
8 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as nefarious from its last stressed vowel (/ɛəɹiəs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of nefarious
- more nefarious comparative
- most nefarious superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nefarious mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics.
Aliens have a nefarious connotation in many science fiction books.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nefarious in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | infâme, malfaisant, néfaste, maléfique, malveillant |
| German | berüchtigt, schändlich, ruchlos, verachtenswert, bösartig, böse |
| Portuguese | nefasto |
| Spanish | nefario, nefando, feo, infame, vicioso, malvado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does nefarious come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).