Question

what is the meaning of the word nefarious as used in the passage? grimms fairy tales, first published in the early nineteenth century, contained more than two hundred folktales, some of which, such as \snow white\ and \cinderella,\ are still well known today. the original tales are often marked by violence and filled with nefarious characters; the characters in the family - friendly versions we know today are often quite unlike those evil figures. various or diverse vile or wicked unfamiliar or peculiar

Explanation:

The context mentions that the original tales are violent and the characters are evil figures. The word "nefarious" is used to describe these characters, so it means something related to being evil. "Vile or wicked" best fits this description as it implies immoral and evil - natured, which aligns with the context of the violent and evil - like characters in the original Grimm's Fairy Tales.

Answer:

vile or wicked