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Excessive vs Nefarious - What's the difference?

excessive | nefarious | Related terms |

As adjectives the difference between excessive and nefarious

is that excessive is exceeding the usual bounds of something; extravagant; immoderate while nefarious is sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics.

excessive

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Exceeding the usual bounds of something; extravagant; immoderate.
    • "I personally consider putting a wide vibrato on a single 16th triplet note at 160 beats per minute rather excessive , nay even stupid."

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Antonyms

    * insufficient * deficient

    Derived terms

    * excessive number

    Related terms

    * exceed * excess

    nefarious

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics.
  • * 1828 , , The Red Rover , ch. 2:
    • "If the vessel be no fair-trading slaver, nor a common cruiser of his Majesty, it is as tangible as the best man's reasoning, that she may be neither more nor less than the ship of that nefarious pirate the Red Rover."
  • * 1877 , , The Life of Cicero , ch. 9:
    • Mommsen . . . declares that Catiline in particular was "one of the most nefarious' men in that ' nefarious age. His villanies belong to the criminal records, not to history."
  • * 1921 , , The Indiscretions of Archie , ch. 26:
    • The fact that the room was still in darkness made it obvious that something nefarious was afoot. Plainly there was dirty work in preparation at the cross-roads.
  • * 2009 Oct. 14, Monica Davey, " Fact Checker Finds Falsehoods in Remarks," New York Times (retrieved 12 May 2014):
    • “I try to let everyone back here in Minnesota know exactly the nefarious activities that are taking place in Washington.”

    Usage notes

    * Commonly used in contexts involving villainous plans, conspiracies, or actions, as in: :* 1909 , , The Lady of the Shroud , book 7: ::: The whole nefarious scheme was one of the "put-up jobs" which are part of the dirty work of a certain order of statecraft.

    Synonyms

    * evil, iniquitous, sinister, underhanded, vile * See also

    Derived terms

    * nefariously * nefariousness

    References

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