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Perfidious vs Nefarious - What's the difference?

perfidious | nefarious | Related terms |

Perfidious is a related term of nefarious.


As adjectives the difference between perfidious and nefarious

is that perfidious is of, pertaining to, or representing perfidy; disloyal to what should command one's fidelity or allegiance while nefarious is sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics.

perfidious

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Of, pertaining to, or representing perfidy; disloyal to what should command one's fidelity or allegiance.
  • * 1610 , , act 2 scene 2
  • *:TRINCULO (speaking about ): By this light, a most perfidious and drunken / monster: when his god's asleep, he'll rob his bottle.
  • * 1851 , , Dr. Goldsmith's History of Rome (ed. William C. Taylor), ch. 26:
    • The perfidious Ricimer soon became dissatisfied with Anthe'mius, and raised the standard of revolt.
  • * 1905 , , John Knox and the Reformation , ch. 14:
    • [S]he knew Huntly for the ambitious traitor he was, a man peculiarly perfidious and self-seeking.
  • * 2005 June 21, , " Art: The Velocipede of Modernism," Time :
    • When the Nazis branded Feininger a "degenerate artist" in 1937, he left 54 paintings for safekeeping with a Bauhaus friend named Hermann Klumpp. After the war, and for the rest of Feininger's life, the perfidious Klumpp refused to give them back.

    Synonyms

    * (disloyal) disloyal, traitorous, treacherous, unfaithful

    Derived terms

    * perfidiously * perfidiousness

    Related terms

    * perfidy

    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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