different between wrong vs nefarious

English

Etymology

From Middle English wrong, from Old English wrang (“wrong, twisted, uneven”), from Old Norse rangr, *vrangr (“crooked, wrong”), from Proto-Germanic *wrangaz (“crooked, twisted, turned awry”), from Proto-Indo-European *wer?-, *wreng?- (“to twist, weave, tie together”), from *wer- (“to turn, bend”). Cognate with Scots wrang (“wrong”), Danish vrang (“wrong, crooked”), Swedish vrång (“perverse, distorted”), Icelandic rangur (“wrong”), Norwegian Nynorsk rang (“wrong”), Dutch wrang (“bitter, sour”) and the first element in the mythic Old Frisian city of Rungholt (“crooked wood”). More at wring.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /???/
• (General American) enPR: r?ng, IPA^(key): /???/
• Rhymes: -??

Adjective

wrong (comparative more wrong or wronger, superlative most wrong or wrongest)

1. Incorrect or untrue.
   • 1592, William Shakespeare, Richard III, Act II, Scene I:

     Among this princely heap, if any here / By false intelligence or wrong surmise / Hold me a foe […]

2. Asserting something incorrect or untrue.

3. Immoral, not good, bad.

4. Improper; unfit; unsuitable.

5. Not working; out of order.

6. Designed to be worn or placed inward

7. (obsolete) Twisted; wry.

Usage notes

• The single-word comparative and superlative forms wronger and wrongest are no longer in common use, except humorously; rather, the locutions “more wrong” and “most wrong” are preferred.
• When wrong is used attributively, before a noun, the noun is usually treated as definite, using the article the; hence, for example, one says, “I dialed the wrong number”, “he gave the wrong answer”, and “she took the wrong approach”, even though there are many possible wrong numbers, answers, and approaches, of which only one was dialed, given, or taken.

Synonyms

• injurious
• unjust
• faulty
• detrimental
• unfit
• unsuitable
• Thesaurus:false

Derived terms

Antonyms

• right

Translations

Quotations

• 2007 January 3, Ken Miller, “The Collapse of Intelligent Design: Will the next Monkey Trial be in Ohio?”, Case Western University, Strosacker Auditorium

  that statement is wrong. Now that's not an incidental statement, that is the heart and soul of the Intelligent Design argument, and in this case it turns out to be wrong. Now it's even wronger than that [laughter] because it turns out that not only do these proteins make up the Type-III Secretory Apparatus but almost every protein in the bacerial flagellum is strongly homologous to proteins that have other functions elsewhere in the cell.

Adverb

wrong (comparative more wrong, superlative most wrong)

1. (informal) In a way that isn't right; incorrectly, wrongly.

Translations

Noun

wrong (plural wrongs)

1. Something that is immoral or not good.

2. An instance of wronging someone (sometimes with possessive to indicate the wrongdoer).
   • 1597, John Dowland, The First Booke of Songes or Ayres, Part V

     Can she excuse my wrongs with Virtue's cloak? Shall I call her good when she proves unkind?

3. The incorrect or unjust position or opinion.
   • 1592, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part III, Act IV, Scene I, line 101

     I blame not her: she could say little less; She had the wrong.

4. The opposite of right; the concept of badness.
   • 1607, William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens, Act IV, Scene III, line 28

     Thus much of this will make Black white, foul fair, wrong right, Base noble, old young, coward valiant.

Synonyms

• wrength

Derived terms

• in the wrong

Translations

Verb

wrong (third-person singular simple present wrongs, present participle wronging, simple past and past participle wronged)

1. To treat unjustly; to injure or harm.

   The dealer wronged us by selling us this lemon of a car.

   • 1591, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part I, Act II, Scene IV, line 109

     Thou dost then wrong me, as that slaughterer doth Which giveth many wounds when one will kill.

2. To deprive of some right, or to withhold some act of justice.
   • 1597, William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part II, Act IV, Scene I, line 121

     ... And might by no suit gain our audience. When we are wrong'd and would unfold our griefs, We are denied access unto his person Even by those men that most have done us wrong.

3. To slander; to impute evil to unjustly.
   • 1598, William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act III, Scene II, line 121

     O masters! if I were dispos'd to stir Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage, I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong, Who (you all know) are honorable men. I will not do them wrong; I rather choose To wrong the dead, to wrong myself and you, Than I will wrong such honorable men.

Translations

Derived terms

See also

• wronged
• wrung

Anagrams

• grown

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vr??/
• Rhymes: -??

Noun

wrong m (plural wrongen, diminutive wrongetje n)

1. (heraldry) wreath, a ring made of two strips of cloth intertwined used on top of helmets to soften any blow

Verb

wrong

1. singular past indicative of wringen

Middle English

Alternative forms

• wrang, wronge, wronk, wornge, rong

Etymology

From Old English wrang; ultimately from Proto-Germanic *wrangaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wr?n?/, [wr???]
• (later ME) IPA^(key): /r?n?/, [r???]

Noun

wrong (plural wronges)

1. A wrong, injustice
2. A (moral) wrong, evil, wrongdoing, sin
3. injury, harm
4. mistake, misstep

Descendants

• English: wrong
• Northumbrian: wrang
• Scots: wrang

References

• “wrong, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-03-18.

Adjective

wrong

1. wicked, evil, (morally) wrong
2. unjust, unfair, illegitimate
3. unlawful, illegal
4. inappropriate
5. inaccurate, mistaken
6. curved, crooked, bent

Related terms

• wrongful
• wrongfully

Descendants

• English: wrong
• Northumbrian: wrang
• Scots: wrang

References

• “wrong, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-03-18.

English

Etymology

From Latin nef?rius (“execrable, abominable”), from nef?s (“something contrary to divine law, an impious deed, sin, crime”), from ne- (“not”) + f?s (“the dictates of religion, divine law”), which is related to Latin for (“I speak, I say”) and cognate to Ancient Greek ???? (ph?mí, “I say”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /n??f???i.?s/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /n??f????.?s/
• Rhymes: -??ri?s

Adjective

nefarious (comparative more nefarious, superlative most nefarious)

1. Sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics.

   Synonyms: evil, iniquitous, sinister, underhanded, vile, good-for-nothing; see also Thesaurus:evil

   • 1828, James Fenimore Cooper, 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, Anthony Trollope, 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, P. G. Wodehouse, 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.”

   Aliens have a nefarious connotation in many science fiction books.

Usage notes

• Commonly used in contexts involving villainous plans, conspiracies, or actions, as in:

• 1909, Bram Stoker, 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.

Derived terms

• nefariously
• nefariousness

Translations

References

• nefarious at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• isofurane