nefarious

/ne-fair-ee-us/

Adjective

Villainous, criminal, wicked

Describe a person's actions as nefarious if they are evil or wicked. Batman and Superman are always fighting evildoers and stopping their nefarious plots.

Nefarious comes from the Latin nefas "crime, impiety." If something is nefarious, it is criminal, evil, malicious and wicked. Thinking of superheroes can help you remember the meaning of the word, but it is often used in much less exciting circumstances. News reporters investigate corrupt politicians in order to uncover the nefarious activities. And, if you don't pay for your downloaded music, you have gotten it by nefarious means.

(Explanation from vocabulary.com)