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Nefarious vs Odious - What's the difference?

nefarious | odious | Synonyms |

As adjectives the difference between nefarious and odious

is that nefarious is sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics while odious is arousing or meriting strong dislike, aversion, or intense displeasure.

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

    *

    odious

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Arousing or meriting strong dislike, aversion, or intense displeasure.
    • Scrubbing the toilet is an odious task.
  • *
  • * {{quote-book
    • , year=1818 , author=Mary Shelley , title=Frankenstein , chapter=6 citation , passage=He looks upon study as an odious fetter; his time is spent in the open air, climbing the hills or rowing on the lake.}}

    Usage notes

    * Nouns to which "odious" is often applied: debt, man, character, crime, task, comparison, woman, person, vice, word, act.

    Synonyms

    * detestable, hated, reviled, unsavory, contemptible, despicable

    Anagrams

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