villain

noun

vil·​lain ˈvi-lən How to pronounce villain (audio)
Synonyms of villainnext
1
: a character in a story or play who opposes the hero
2
: a deliberate scoundrel or criminal
3
: one blamed for a particular evil or difficulty
… witness the wolf, at once ecological hero and agricultural villain.—Ben Goldfarb
4
: villein
5
: an uncouth person : boor

Synonyms of villain

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Examples of villain in a Sentence

He plays the villain in most of his movies. She describes her first husband as a villain who treated her terribly. Don't try to make me the villain. It's your own fault that you're having these problems.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Three-quarters of the way through an all-in-all pretty thrilling Reacher season, a picaresque episode introduces still another villain and concludes on a particularly dire cliffhanger. — Chris Klimek, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2026 Meanwhile, Boyle compares O’Connell as Lamb to one of the great villains in cinema history. — Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2026 In outline, these are elegant Bond-villain machines for faceless, leaderless, pervasive espionage and assassination, the stuff of paranoid nightmares and stochastic violence. — Finn Brunton, Harpers Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026 Our medication is an easy villain — concrete, nameable, and easy to blame. — Jennifer Adaeze Okwerekwu, STAT, 1 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for villain

Word History

Etymology

Middle English vilain, vilein, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin villanus, from Latin villa

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4

Time Traveler
The first known use of villain was in the 14th century

Rhymes for villain

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Browse Nearby Words

Villahermosa
villain
villainage
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Cite this Entry

“Villain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/villain. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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Kids Definition

villain

noun
vil·​lain ˈvil-ən How to pronounce villain (audio)
1
: villein
2
: an evil person : scoundrel
3
: a character in a story or play who opposes the hero
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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